Super Sonic Z
by KivaND6
Summary: In a world conquered by Robotnik, the Sonic, Tails, Sally and the other Freedom Fighters stand up to fight his tyranny. Reboot of the sonic universe as a whole.
1. Origins, part 1

Hi everyone. Here is my attempt at a Sonic the hedgehog reboot, Super Sonic Z. It was on my deviantart account for a very long time before I decided to copy it to my account. The fic was very long by the time I decided this so if you see such a huge story with this little reviews, it's because it's only on for short, but the story itself is much older then that.

So I hope you have the patience and the curiosity to read through this huge fanfic…

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z

CHAPTER ONE: ORIGINS, PART I

Mobius used to such a beautiful place…until a madman with a crazed dream came and messed it up. He destroyed large parts of the environment to build his robot factories and turned the people into his slaves. But one group of young heroes had risen and now are fighting the empire of this madman, for freedom, to bring the forest back to their word. But how did it all get to this? Let's take a look at where it all started, in a place called Green Hill Zone, on South Island.

Two scientists were admiring a machine they recently finished, which had a large blue gem at the top in a glass dome. "Well, it appears we've outdone ourselves again, Charles. This will revolutionize practically everything." The first scientist said. He was a human-like being, only he had four fingers. He was tall, handsome, had red hair, wore dark blue glasses and had brown eyes. "I couldn't have done it without you, Julian. Oh this will be glorious." The other scientist said. He was a brown Mobian hedgehog with a brown mustache. They admired their work as the doorbell rang.

"Oh, almost forgot my brother and his family came for a visit today. Oh well, I think they deserve to be the first ones to see this." Charles said as he headed for the door. When he opened the door, you could see three hedgehogs. The first one looked like Charles, but with no mustache, but he had a tuft of brown hair on his forehead. There was a female hedgehog beside him, who had a tuft of blonde hair and in her arms, she carried a small one-year old brown hedgehog infant. "Jules, Bernie, and little Maurice too. Glad you could come." Charles said as he greeted and hugged his family.

"Hey bro. Glad to see you too." The hedgehog named Jules said. "Unca Chuck!" the little hedgehog infant said happily. "Oh, look how you've grown." Charles said as he tickled the little Maurice, who giggled. "You're not ready to settle down and start a family, Charles?" Bernie asked him. "No, no one wants an old geek like me, besides I'm way too busy with my research to think of that. Talking about it, why don't you come in, me and Julian were about to lay the last hands on our newest discovery!" Charles said as he showed the family in.

"Ah, you brought the whole family Charles. Jules, looking good!" Julian greeted. "Thanks, you too." Jules said. "Bernadette, you look younger each day!" Julian said as he politely kissed her hand. "Oh Mr. Namgge (pronounced nam-muh-geh), you're so flattering." Bernadette said. "Oh please, call me Julian, I know you so well by now, we're practically family. And is that the little Maurice, how adorable." Julian responded. "Dah!" Maurice gurgled. "Can you say 'Namgge'?" Julian asked the little Maurice. "Nam…egg…man…" the little Maurice said, struggling with the name.

"Well, he already talks really good." Charles said. "Yeah, but can he walk too?" Julian asked. "Oh you believe it. Put Maurice down Bernie." Jules said, as Bernie let the little Maurice go, and the little one immediately started running around energetically. "Whoa, you got an active one there." Charles said in good humor. "Yeah, he can't sit still. But no matter, he's still our little precious thing." Bernadette said, looking lovingly at her son. "But maybe you want to pick him up, we don't want to have him running down into the lab. Things might get dangerous for him there." Charles suggested. "I'll put him in his special chair and leave him there, while you show us that new invention of yours." Bernadette said as she picked up the little Maurice and put it in the chair, strapped him and put him away. "Now wait here for daddy and me, Uncle Chuck and Mr. Namgge are going to show us something." She said sweetly before she handed Maurice a Flicky plushie to play with. Then they went downstairs to see what Charles and Julian had cooked up.

"Whoa, if this is your lab, I want to see your room." Jules joked. "I know it's a bit of a mess, but your eyes are going to pop out when you see this!" Charles said as he turned on the lights for the back of the room, where they saw the machine with the blue gem inside. "Holy Walkers, is that a Chaos Emerald?" Bernie asked. "Indeed." Charles said. "Where did you find it, I mean something like that isn't something you can pick up at the local store or anything." Jules said. "It's complicated and it would involve a lot of techno babble you wouldn't be able to understand." Julian assured them.

"Indeed, what matters is that what we can do with the Emeralds. Let us show you a few of our inventions we managed to complete with the Emerald's data." Charles said as they guided them around in the labs. There he showed a box full of tiny green, yellow, blue and red gems. "Here were our attempts to create an artificial emerald, but it only produced little shards, and we can't properly fuse them together. But that doesn't' mean the little things have no use. They hold a great amount of power, which allowed us to make this." Charles said as he held up a tube with a green shard in it.

"Chaos Drives! A clean and good energy source that can power any machinery, without harming the environment." Julian explained. "That's great, the Overlanders will be grateful for that as they have been struggling with the fossil fuel they're using." Bernie noted. "And that's not all…it's also going to help us advance in the medical sector." Charles said as he showed them an aquarium holding a large deformed rock. "I call this the Deep Power Stone, it was another fruitless attempt to recreate the emerald but it got something good out of it." Charles said as the stone glowed and produced a gold ring.

"I call this the Power Ring. It has the same Chaos signature as an emerald shard, but it works different. The first time I touched one, I had a bad cold, and wished it to be gone, and guess what? The ring vanished, but so did my cold! I also felt very fit after using the ring. The exact strength of the healing properties aren't known, but if we manage to use it right, we might be able to treat injuries we couldn't before." Charles explained.

"Bro…you're going to be legendary!" Jules said to Charles. "Oh, don't give me all the credit, Julian was there all the way to help me." Charles said. "And I was glad to help. Come to think of it, there is this other project I've been working on by myself, but I think it can be used for medical uses if the Power Ring idea wouldn't catch on." Julian said as he pulled out what appears parts of a robotic armor. "So…what's it supposed to be?" Bernie asked. "I call it the NIK-suit; Neuro-Integration unit mark K. If a person is terribly wounded or in a coma or suffers from an incurable disease, it can be placed in a suit like this, it's organic body in stasis while the mind controls the robotic suit around it and they can go on in their daily lives until their body is healed, or a cure for their predicament is found." Julian explained. "Sounds great…any disadvantages?" Jules asked. "The integration in the suit can be painful. And I haven't worked out any flaws considering the neuro-mental interface. But I'm working on it." Julian answered.

"Both of you are doing such a great job trying to improve the world. You two should get statues of yourself." Bernadette said. "You're flattering us, dear sister-in-law. But we aren't done with it just yet." Charles said as he pointed at the machine holding the Chaos Emerald. "With the emerald, we can discover the secrets of time and space due to the raw energy inside." Julian added. "The emerald really holds such a power?" Jules asked. "Indeed it does, and it can do much more, if we have to believe the legends." Charles assured him.

Little Maurice waved his little Flicky plushie around in delight until he accidentally let it drop. He tried to reach out for it, but found himself to be stuck in his little chair. He then notices the buckle that kept him strapped. Whether he wanted to play with the shiny thing or he was smarter then he looked, he toyed with it and unlocked himself, going towards the plushie and hugging it tight. But then he noticed the lab door wasn't closed. Out of curiosity he went inside.

He saw various shiny things he liked looking at. But the most shiny thing of all was the blue gem on top of a large contraption. "Dah!" little Maurice said as he made his way towards it. "Oh no you won't!" Julian said as he picked the little rascal up. "That's a very dangerous machine, no touch." Julian berated the little one. "Egg…man?" the little one asked obvious. "Bernie, you might keep a closer eye on your kid next…" Julian said as he wanted to hand Maurice back to Bernie…

Only to not see the cable in front of him on the ground, as he tripped, but managed to hold on to something before he could fall, but unfortunately, it was the keyboards of the machine he held on to, and he had pressed the wrong buttons. The machine started to zoom, making strange sounds. The machine overloaded as it started to glow, Namgge shielded the young unaware Maurice with his body instinctively. The machine started to glow in a dark purple tone and an energy bolt flew out and hit Namgge, zapping him painfully and knocking him unconscious. The glow on the machine changed color to a light blue and hit the little Maurice, though the little fella didn't appear to be hurt by it. The machine started shifting colors, but without energy surges this time, as the top blew off, and the power in the entire lab went out.

"Julian!" "Maurice!" sounded, the worried parents and friend headed towards their sides. The little Maurice now looked different, his eyes, which were formerly brown were now green, and his fur was blue, and also notable his quills have fused, creating two large scythe like quills on his back and about six on the back of his head. "Maurice, you all right?" Bernie asked. Maurice just waved the little Flicky plushie in front of her face: "Flicky!" he gurgled happily. "Despite the odd look he has now, he appears to be normal." Charles concluded.

At the same time, Julian groaned and got up. "Julian, you all right?" Charles asked. "No, I'm not fine! Because of that little brat, our invention is ruined and I nearly got electrocuted!" Julian groaned. He didn't look that much different either, only his eyes were red instead of blue." "He can't be blamed, he didn't know better. It's just a child." Jules argued. "Whatever, I'm going home and get some rest, better then to be in the same space with the likes of you." Julian said grumpy as he prepared to leave. "Shouldn't we check if the explosion did anything to you?" Charles asked. "You leave me alone!" Julian said as he left, slamming the door behind him. "I think that blast threw a few things out of whack with him." Bernie said. "Let him be, I need to take a look at Maurice." Charles said.

"I'm a terrible mom, I left him alone for a few minutes and now he's all blue." Bernie said sadly. "We didn't think he would be able to get out. It's not your fault. Now hold him still." Charles said as he pulled out a scanner of sorts and moved it across Maurice's body. The little tyke gleefully reached out for the funny looking thing, thinking it to be a toy. "He gives off the same signature as the Chaos Emerald…the Emerald, where is it?" Charles noted as the emerald was no longer in the machine. "Hello, Maurice first?" Jules noted.

"Oh right, I'm sorry. Well, despite the odd signature he is completely normal. Not sure about the look though, but you have to get used to it." Charles said. "No matter he's blue, green or purple, he's still our little one, aren't you?" Bernie said. "Mama? Dada?" little Maurice said in a cute way. "Yes, he's still our boy. I think I even like the new look. It makes him unique." Jules stated. "Let's get him out of this lab before more accidents happen." Charles suggested. They got out of the lab, locked the door behind them, and Bernie put Maurice down, getting tired in her arms.

But then it was that Maurice started to energetically started to zoom across the room, becoming little more than a blue streak. After zooming around so fast across the room many times, he stopped, yawned and dropped on the floor asleep. "Whoa…did our little boy just run super-fast right now?" Jules asked. "The Chaos Energy must have an unforeseen side-effect on him. He has been blessed with great speed." Charles concluded. "I don't know what I need to think of it, how will this affect Maurice when he gets older?" Bernie asked concerned as she picked the sleeping Maurice up.

"You don't need to worry about that, just raise him as a normal boy is supposed to be raised, and he'll turn out just fine. But if anything is supposed to go wrong, I'm sure Charles will find a way, I mean he is the expert on Chaos, right?" Jules stated. "I'm here for you, and I'm here for little Maurice too." Charles said. The little Maurice yawned before he placed his head in a comfier position on his mom's shoulder. "Anyway you look at it, he's still our little angel." She said, looking delighted at her son. "He sure is, sweetie. He's our little one." Jules said, petting his sleeping son's head.

FIVE YEARS LATER

"Mommy, look what Santa brought me!" Sonic said as he showed the action figure he found in his present. It was Christmas on Mobius and for young hedgehogs like little Maurice it was a great time. It was then that the doorbell rang. "Oh, that has to be Uncle Chuck!" Jules said as he stood up and got to the front door. It was Charles indeed. "Uncle Chuck!" little Maurice said excited as he ran to his uncle super-fast and tackled him to the ground affectionately. "I'm glad to see you too, sonny! Now get off me or you'll break my old back." Chuck said amused. "Sorry." Maurice said as he got off, and Jules helped his brother up. "Glad you could make it, bro." Jules said to his brother. "Oh, how could I pass up Christmas with my brother and his lovely wife…who is always making good pudding around Christmas." Charles replied.

"Are you only coming for the pudding?" Bernadette asked. "No, also for the soup and the roasted Cockatrice." Charles said jokingly. "Look what Santa brought me Uncle Chuck! He brought me a Speedy the Porcupine action figure!" Maurice said happily, holding the toy up. "Oh really? Oh, that reminds me, Santa dropped another present at my house for you." he said as he handed Sonic another present. Sonic ripped the paper of the box and opened it and saw two red sneakers, with a gold buckle and a white line at the side. "Wow, these look way past cool!" Maurice said excited. "Yep, and Santa has worked his elf magic on it, these shoes won't wear down when you use your super speed, unlike the other shoes." Charles explained.

"This is mundo cool!" Maurice said as he put on the sneakers and immediately began running around with them. "Ah, see how he loves them. If only we could give him the last thing on his Christmas list." Jules said. "What's that?" Charles asked. Bernie put a hand on her belly. "Oh…" Charles said. "It was hard for us to become pregnant with Maurice, and the pregnancy was a tough time, but the doctor said we can't risk it anymore." Bernie said sadly. "I'm so sorry." Charles said. "It's okay. But how are we going to explain to Maurice he won't have a brother or sister for Christmas?" Jules wondered.

The Door bell rang again. "I'll take it." Jules said as he went to the front door again. "So, how's Mr. Namgge?" Bernie asked. "I'm getting worried about him, since the accident with the Emerald Machine, he hasn't been the same. He's been ruder than ever, and he let himself go, and I mean really let himself go, he's starting to look egg-shaped. And he's getting prematurely bald. But what worries me most is his change in attitude. He used to be all for a bright green future, now he sees industry and machines, and he changed his design of his NIK-suits from a tool for medical purpose to one of warfare. Sure, GUN loves the new toys, but it worries me." Charles explained.

"Bernie, Chuck, you don't believe what I just found at our doorstep." Jules said as he came walking in, holding a basket with a baby fox in it. "Someone left their baby on the doorstep?" Bernie asked. "There was a note with it. It said: 'This little boy can't be raised in a land torn by war, and needs a home far away from it all. Take good care of little Miles Prower.'" Jules added. Bernie saw the cute little yellow fox, soundly asleep. She also noted a special characteristic: "He has two tails." She said.

The Maurice came walking back in. "Look, Santa did bring me a baby brother!" he said excited upon seeing the fox. "Maurice…" Charles wanted to say, but Jules put a hand on his shoulder and shook 'no' with his head. "Well…yeah, the little guy has no family so Santa dropped him off with us. His name is Miles." Bernie said. "So you're going to keep him?" Charles asked. "Yeah, he has no family, otherwise he wouldn't be left here. Besides, he is adorable." Bernie answered. "Why does he have two tails?" Maurice asked. "Because he's special, like you." Jules assured him. The little fox cub opened his eyes, waking up, looking at the faces around him. "Er…hello there. We're your new mommy and daddy." Bernie said. Little Miles laughed at the smiling faces around him. "And I'm your big bro, Maurice! And we're going to be the best buddies ever." Maurice said. Miles giggled at the comment.

A FEW MONTHS LATER…

"But daddy, I don't want to go to the new school. I don't know anyone." Maurice moaned. He and his parents had moved to the Emerald Hill Zone on West Side Island, the Island right next to South Island. "That means it's a chance to make new friends." Jules assured his son. "But they'll pick on me for being blue." Maurice said sadly. "Only stupid kids pick on others, so you'll be able to tell who are your friends." Bernie assured him. "Son, promise me you'll not use your speed to get back at people who are mean to you, because that makes you mean too. You gotta show you're better than them, okay?" Jules asked. "Okay dad, I promise." Maurice assured him.

"Wave your brother goodbye Miles." Bernie said as she gently grabbed Miles' hand and makes him wave at Maurice, who went inside the school. He saw several kids playing on the playground and walked around quietly. He hoped not to draw too much attention but. "Hey blueberry!" a skunk boy shouted at him. Maurice turned around and got a ball in his face. "Now you're blueberry jelly!" the skunk kid mocked, his cronies (a pig and a mongoose) laughed at his joke.

"Leave him alone!" another voice said. Maurice saw a squirrel girl in a blue dress and with red hair move towards the bullies. "Ah, if it isn't little miss lot-of-bucks. Sticking up for the freak?" the skunk boy asked. "You're a big bully Geoffrey." The girl said firmly. "I don't let a stinkin' girl tell me what I am!" Geoffrey said as he flipped her skirt up high so everyone could see her underwear. The entire playground, plus a few exceptions laughed at her, while the squirrel girl was close to tears.

Maurice couldn't take it anymore. "Leave her alone! You think you're really tough, taking on a girl, how low can you get." He shouted at the bullies. "What are you going to do about it blueberry?" Geoffrey asked. "I…I…" Maurice stuttered. "Let's teach him a lesson to show him who's boss!" Geoffrey said as he and the other bullies advanced on Maurice. They tried to punch him, but Maurice used his speed to dodge.

"What the…did you see that?" the pig boy said. "Try hitting him again!" the mongoose boy said as he tried punching Maurice again, but he was just too fast, and he dodged, and makes the mongoose accidentally punch the pig. "Ouch, you idiot." The pig said as he started fighting with the mongoose boy. The skunk boy groaned. "Do I have to do anything myself?" he asked as he tried punching Maurice. But Maurice dodged, and Geoffrey lost his balance as he fell into the mud. Now everyone was laughing at him. Geoffrey cried and ran away.

"Whoa, that was amazing, you're really fast. And you showed him. Everyone hates Geoffrey." The squirrel girl complimented. "Hey, they were mean to you, they deserved it." Maurice said. "What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Maurice." He introduced himself. "I'm Sally!" she said, before she pecked him on the cheek and added: "And thank you." Maurice blushed as he touched the spot he was kissed. "I'm going to introduce you to my friends, they'd love to know about you." she said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him along.

They came across a tree, where a bunch of other kids sat under. There was a purple walrus boy, a blonde coyote boy, a lynx girl, a rabbit girl and a young dog boy. "Hi everyone, this is the new guy Maurice. He saved me from that bully Geoffrey." She said. "Really? How did he do that?" the walrus boy asked. "He moved so fast, Geoffrey and his stupid friends didn't know what hit them. Can you show them, Maurice?" Sally explained. Maurice demonstrated by running into the distance really fast and back in about a second.

"Oh ma stars, he's really fast." The rabbit girl said admiring. "It's a talent I have." Maurice said. "By the way, ma name is Bunnie!" the rabbit girl said. "I'm Boomer." The walrus boy added. "Antoine eez my name." the coyote boy introduced himself. "Muttski's name is Muttski!" the dog boy said. "I-I-I'm N-N-Nicole." The lynx girl said shyly as she turned her head away. "Don't mind Nicole, she's a bit shy." Sally explained. "Thanks for putting that stinky skunk in his place, he always bullies us." Bunnie said.

"Why? You guys seem okay to me." Maurice asked. "He thinks I'm fat, Bunnie and Antoine talk funny, Nicole because she's shy, Muttski because…well, he's Muttski and Sally because she's rich." Boomer explained. "You're rich?" Maurice asked. "Yes, but I don't want to brag about it, but Geoffrey and his gang think I'm a brat because of it. I don't even want to be rich. It's because of it that my daddy almost never sees me." Sally said sadly. "What about your mommy?" Maurice asked. "Daddy won't let me see her. They don't live together any more. They had a…bee torch or something like that. Daddy paid a funny man in a black robe and a guy with a hammer told me I got to stay with daddy." Sally said sadly.

"I'm sorry I asked." Maurice said. "It's nothing, you didn't know." Sally said. "She at least has a mommy and daddy, I live with ma uncle Bo and auntie Lulu." Bunnie said. "I only 'ave a papa." Antoine explained. "I have a mother and a little brother, but no daddy." Boomer added. "Muttski has no mommy or daddy, Muttski has three brothers who take care of him." Muttski said. "I have a mommy…but no daddy, but mommy married another man." Nicole said. "If you're sad, then maybe we shouldn't talk about it." Maurice suggested.

Bunnie decided to change the subject: "How did you get that blue color?" "You think it's weird?" Maurice asked. "Nah, ah think it looks good on ya." She replied. "I don't know, I'm like this as long as I remember." Maurice answered. "You know, Maurice doesn't fit you. It's cute but it's not you." Sally said. "Then what should I be called?" Maurice wondered. "He was really fast…like supersonic!" Boomer noted. "That's it! We'll call you 'Sonic'!" Sally said. "Really, can I do that?" Maurice asked. "Sure, Muttski's real name is Percival, but he we call him Muttski." Sally said. "Sonic…I like it, call me Sonic!" Maurice…I mean Sonic said. "Hey Sonic, you want to be our friend?" Boomer asked. "Sure, you're great guys, and you aren't freaked out cause I'm blue." Sonic said.

"Muttski welcomes you to the group!" the doy boy Muttski said as he hugs Sonic tightly. "Muttski likes Sonic, though Muttski just met Sonic…squirrel! Oh wait, that's Sally…Muttski likes you." "You're weird, but you're funny." Sonic noted. "You want to play Speedy the Porcupine with us? You can be Speedy, and I'll be princess Walnut." Sally suggested. "Oh, can I be the mean Dr. Square?" Boomer asked. "Sure…Speedy the Porcupine to the rescue!" Sonic said as they all stood up, and began running around playfully.

Sonic has made himself a great set of friends that day. But he had to learn to keep his friends close, as not long soon after, things wouldn't look so happy anymore…

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. Origins, part 2

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z

CHAPTER TWO: ORIGINS, PART II

Sonic was with his Uncle Chuck who drove him somewhere in a car. Sonic was holding a big colorful box in his hands. "I'm so glad you not only managed to make friends so fast, but a lot of them at once." Charles said to his nephew. "They're the greatest! And now Sally has invited me to her birthday party! No one ever asked me." Sonic said happily. "Ah, young love." Charles said amused. "What? She's just my friend. A really good friend." Sonic said. "But you bought her this really huge present…and you're blushing." Charles teased. "No, I'm not!" Sonic said, trying to hide the blush on his face.

"Ah, we're here!" Charles said as they stopped in front of the big expensive looking mansion. Sally's dad was after all one of the biggest business tycoons on Mobius. They went towards the front door and rang the doorbell. The door was answered by a squirrel woman. "Yes?" she asked. "Hi, I'm Sonic! I'm here for the party." Sonic said happily. "Oh yes, Sally has it about you all the time, she really likes you." the woman said as she let Sonic in.

"You're his dad?" the squirrel woman asked. "No, I'm his uncle. My brother and his wife are both busy with their jobs as police officers, so I'm dropping him off instead. By the way, I'm Charles, Charles Hedgehog." Charles explained. "The famous inventor? I'm honored to meet you, I'm Rosie, Rosie Beechnut. I'm Sally's nanny." She introduced herself. "Glad to meet you Rosie, but no use getting worked up over me, I'm retired as an inventor." Charles assured her. "Oh yeah, you run a diner these days right?" she asked. "I do." Charles replied.

Rosie's cell phone then rang. "Yes. What? But you…you promised her. Oh…Okay, I'll tell her. Bye." She put down her cell phone. "I can't believe he's missing another one of her birthdays, he's her father for crying out loud." Rosie said angrily. "Poor child. I wouldn't be able to imagine it if my brother acted that way towards Maurice." Charles said. "Be glad for the little guy. How am I going to explain it to Sally this time, she was so hopeful…" Rosie said sadly. "I wouldn't know it myself. I wish I could do something to help." Charles said. "Wait, can you help me cooking up the food, our cook sadly has gone sick." Rosie asked. "Sure, I got a little recipe they'd love…" Charles answered.

Sally had received presents from all her friends, but when she had opened them all, she didn't seem that happy. "What is it Sally-Girl? Don't you like what we gave you?" Bunnie asked. "Yes, but…daddy should have been here hours ago but he didn't come. I guess he'll be missing another one of my birthdays." Sally said sadly. "Another? You mean he missed your birthdays before?" Sonic asked. "He misses all of her birthdays." Boomer explained. "Yeah, Max is no good dad to Sally." Muttski added. "Listen, your dad might not be here, but we're here for you, we're your friends." Sonic stated.

Sally started smile a bit more at Sonic's words. "You know what, I don't care about dad not being here, you're all here, my friends, and you don't let me down. I don't need him." She said. "Who's hungry?" Rosie called out when she came into the room. Everyone raised their hands. "Too bad Pierre was sick, but someone has helped me prepare a nice meal for you kids." Rosie said as uncle Chuck came in, carrying a plate full of chilidogs. "Uncle Chuck? You're cooking? That's great, my uncle is a great cook and his chilidogs are awesome." Sonic said happily. "I never had a chilidog before." Sally admitted. "Well, then taste one. Believe me, my uncle's cooking will blow you away." Sonic said as she handed one to her. Sally looked at it for a while, but then decided to take a bite.

"Wow, this is really tasty. Your uncle really knows how to cook." Sally said, happy with the tasty snack. "Told ya." Sonic said as he scarfed down a chilidog of his own. "And they're my favorite thing to eat in the entire world." he added. "Zis is really good." Antoine complimented. "Wheneva ma uncle tries to cook, even the Muddlers won't eat it." Bunnie joked. "He can cook for my birthday party too." Boomer said happily. "I-I-It's good." Nicole said, shyly.

"Muttski would love to try, but Muttski is a vegetarian." Muttski explained. "Oh yeah, Rosie told me, so I made you a few special tofudogs with veggie chili and soy cheese." Charles said as he handed a plate with vegetarian chilidogs. Muttski took a bite of one of them, and he started to act like a young Scooby Doo whenever he got a Scooby Snack, with the self-hugging, the moans of pleasure and the floating. "Muttski loved these. Muttski loves these so much, Muttski now wants to learn how to cook. Muttski wants to be a great cook like Uncle Chuck." Muttski said happily. "Don't eat too much, there will be cake later." Rosie warned everyone as they happily ate all the food.

"The cake still is in the oven, they have time." Charles assures them. "Oh, while we wait for the cake, let's watch that Speedy the Porcupine DVD you got from me." Boomer suggested. "Yeah, great idea." Sally said as she led her friends to the next room, where a huge tv waited for them. "You really helped me out greatly, thank you for that Mr. Charles." Rosie complimented. "Oh it's nothing, I love to make those little sprouts happy. And drop the Mr., it makes me feel so old." Charles said.

"Oh Charles, you're so humble. You know, we should get better acquainted sometime. Can we go out for a drink or something later this week or something?" Rosie suggested. "Well…er…sure why not? I know a nice café where they have good coffee and such…" Charles said, a bit baffled. Sonic and Sally were right around the corner listening in on them, giggling softly. "Your uncle likes Rosie!" Sally said. "Uncle Chuck has been single all his life, but I think it might change in the future." Sonic added. "I think it's cute." Sally added.

ONE YEAR LATER…

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!" the bat priest (no relation to Rouge) said as Rosie and Charles kissed, the entire crowd cheering. Especially young Sonic's family. "I can't believe he finally has settled down." Jules said with a sense of pride. "He deserved it. He didn't need to be alone for the rest of his life." Bernie said proudly. Little Miles just gurgled happily and waved his arms around in response to everyone looking happy.

Sally and most of Max's staff were there, but Max himself wasn't. But Sally was happy for Rosie, who had been like a mother to her for most of her life. And Charles was a nice guy who always was fun to be around whenever he came to see Rosie. He was actually more fatherly then her real father. In fact, Sally could almost feel she was looking at her parents' wedding right now.

But the two newlyweds walked out of the church, ready to board a carriage, with the crowd behind them. But things didn't turn out as one would expect as the sky turned dark. Not because of clouds or because it was nighttime already, now a whole bunch of flying ships had risen in the sky and blocked the sunlight. From the ships emerged several black dots, and when the dots came closer into view and landed, you could see they were several black humanoid robots with red visors, wielding rifles. Everyone started to panic, but the robots were everywhere and they didn't know where to escape to.

Then a large pod came out of the sky, carrying inside a tall Overlander. He had a red military-styled jacket, a big red mustache, a pink nose, red glowing eyes, blue glasses and a wicked grin on his face. His most notable physical feature was his girth, making him look something like an egg. "Charlie, I'm home!" he greeted. "Julian…what do you think you're doing?" Charles asked angrily. "Me? Can't I congratulate my old friend for his wedding? I must admit, never thought you'd settle down." The now vastly different Julian said, fondling his mustache.

"I mean, what's the deal with the robots?" Charles asked. "Oh that? You probably already knew I took my research in a whole new direction. One that's more productive, yet destructive. G.U.N. had paid me a lot for weapon development but I kept the best inventions to myself. And as you can see, I'm going to put them to good use." Julian said in a dark tone. "What use can you have for these weaponized bots that is 'good'!" Charles asked. "Lemme explain, old friend. You see, no matter how hard we fight for this 'clean and peaceful future', the world will be at discord. Remember the Overlander's anti-Mobian group Sigma? Or the Clan wars in Chun-Nan? I will end the fighting, by uniting every nation in the world under me…" Julian said with dark glee.

"You're just using that as an excuse for conquest out of greed for power." Charles stated. "How dare you…okay, you're right. But it sounds deeper that way." Julian said, straight out admitting it. "What happened to you Julian?" Charles asked. "I grew up…but there's no need for us to be enemies. No, you're the one who made it all possible, after all we used to be partners in science. Your research has allowed me to created these robots and several Chaos-based power sources." Julian growled. "I would have never invented them if I knew you'd abuse them." Charles said defiantly.

"Oh Charles, and I hoped we could be partners. But on the other hand, why would I share the power over the planet if I can have it all for myself?" Julian said in a dark calm tone. "Leave my uncle alone, you big bully! You…Eggman!" a defiant young Sonic said. "Ah yes, the blue young tyke. I see the blue hasn't worn off. No matter, his fate shall be the same as anyone else's." Julian noted. "You're sick Julian!" Charles belted at him. "Sick? Oh yeah, almost forgot. Remember my project I intended to use for medical purposes? The NIK-Suits?" Julian reacted.

Julian pulled a small shield-shaped object out of his pocket. "I think the NIK-suit has gone bad!" he said as he tossed it at Bernie. "Honey, look out!" Jules said as he pushed his wife out of the way as the tiny shield-like object attacked to him, and embeds itself in his skin, making the hedgehog cry out in pain. The object started to grow as it formed a robotic suit around Jules, who was still crying out in pain as the suit painfully forms around him. Once the process was complete, Jules was completely covered, looking a lot like a Robian. "Unit-001 Online! Awaiting orders, Master Julian." He said in a robotic monotone. Everyone gasped in shock.

"Jules…no!" Bernie said crying. "You monster!" Charles growled in anger after seeing what Julian did to his friend. "Oh, you make it sound like my NIK-Suits are bad…Bad NIK suits. Badniks! That's what I'll call it. Now, Jules, SWAT-Bots, assimilate them." Julian ordered. The SWAT-Bots advanced on the crowd, some holding the civilians in a chokehold so the other SWAT-Bots could place NIK-Suits on them. It was quickly turning out of hand. "Rosie, take the kids away. I'll hold him off." Charles warned Rosie. "But…we just got married, we were going to have a life together." Rosie said sadly.

"He wants me, as long as I'm with you, I'm a danger. Now save the kids. I'll try to hold off Julian as long as I can." Charles argued. "But what if you become one of them?" Rosie asked. "I know that you or Sonny will save me one day. Now please go!" Charles answered. Rosie kisses him before she said: "I'll be back, my love." She said as she scooped up Sally and tried to run: "Where is Sonic?" she wondered.

"Mommy, daddy?" Sonic asked sadly, seeing his now Badnik parents loom over him. "Organic life-form detected. Priority: capture and prepare for conversion into Badnik." Badnik Bernie said. "You did this to them, you Eggman!" Sonic said sadly and angrily at Julian. "That's DOCTOR Eggman to you. Now stand still you little rugrat!" Julian reacted. Charles pulls Sonic out of the way and hands him to Rosie. "No, lemme go! I want to hurt the bad man for what he did." Sonic said defiantly. "No Sonic, you can't. We're going to run, hide, and then we need to think of a plan. We'll save them and hurt the bad man later, okay?" Rosie argued. "Why are grownups always right?" Sonic moaned.

While Rosie ran off, Charles took down a SWAT-Bot by pulling out some wires and grabbed it's, weapon, aiming it at Julian, and shot down his flying pod. He went out of control and crashed into an oil truck. "Well, that was easy…I'm sorry I had to do this Julian, but you had gone too…far?" Charles said, but to his surprise he found Julian crawling out of the burning wreckage relatively intact. His ears were gone, one of his eyes was a bloody mess and one of his arms looked dead and burned, but it was still a surprise that he was alive, and walking and acting just fine despite his wounds.

"I didn't expect that from you Charles, you surprise me. But all good things need to come to an end!" Julian said as he snapped his fingers and Badnik Jules and Bernie came up from behind him and held him tight. "Jules, Bernie, let me go, it's me! Charles? Chuck? Your brother?" Charles argued. Julian smiled in evil glee as he approached Charles and in his intact hand sported another Badnik Emblem (little shield-like thingies). "Join!" he growled as he put it on Charles face and watched him squirm as he was converted.

Rosie had been running through the city, avoiding the SWAT-Bots and Badniks the place was now crawling with. She, Sonic, little Miles and Sally hid in a back alley. Sally was close to crying, while little Miles was actually crying, but silently so the SWAT-Bots wouldn't hear him. "Why? Why does that bad man do all these things?" she asked. "He's a jerk, that's why! He doesn't need a reason." Sonic stated. Then they were slightly startled as they heard a sound in the back alley, but were relieved to see Boomer, Muttski and Antoine, lost and by themselves.

"Boomer, Muttski, Twan! You're okay!" Sally said as she ran for her friends and hugged them. "Oh I'm glad we found you, the bad robots nearly got us." Boomer said. "Oui, zey have captured all our families and 'ave turned them into zese bad robots." Antoine said. "Where are Bunnie and Nicole?" Sonic asked. "They got them, the robots. It's our fault, we couldn't do anything." Boomer said sadly. "If you couldn't do anything then it's not your fault, you're just kids, and they don't expect you to go after giant robots." Rosie assured them.

"Muttski's brothers are captured, other families captured, Bunnie and Nicole are captured, we're all next, we're doing to die, we're doomed." Muttski said, completely in panic, until Sonic slapped him. "Thanks, Muttski needed that." Muttski said, calm again. "We need to leave West Side Island, we need to go somewhere safe." Rosie said as she gathered the kids and they had continued their escape.

Rosie surprisingly managed to sneak around the Swatbots and Badniks with great stealth, and she managed to make it into the harbor, grab a motorboat and fled over the water with the kids. "Rosie, where did you learn all that cool spy sneaking stuff?" Sally asked. "That was from my time from before I became your nanny. I used to work at GUN, special agent." Rosie explained. "Whoa, you were a secret agent. Can you learn that stuff to us too? So we can use it to save our families?" Sonic asked. "I can, but I'll need help. We'll visit an old friend of mine." Rosie explained.

After an hour of rushing across the water, they came across another island. Northern Island to be precise. "Does your friend live here Rosie?" Boomer asked. "Yep, on this island, in the Splash Hill Zone." Rosie said as they stepped out of the boat and went to explore the island. Eventually they came across a secluded tiny house in the Splash Hills. Rosie knocked on the door. When someone opened the door, an aged cat woman stepped out. "Rosie? Is that you?" she asked. "Hi Julayla, long time no see." Rosie greeted.

"What brings you here, my old partner?" Julayla asked. "Julian Namgge…he has gone bonkers and taken over West Side Island, and he'll continue his conquest. He already has captured my husband and I only managed to save these kids." Rosie explained. "Why didn't they listen to me? I told them not to trust Julian, I told them not to give him money or resources, I told them to investigate him, but they would never listen to me." Julayla moaned.

"Miss Jula? You were a secret agent too. Can you train us?" Sonic asked. "What?" Julayla asked. "The bad man and his robots captured our friends and our families, and we want to get them back, but we can only do that if you show us how we need to do that." Sally begged. "Yes please, we don't want to hide and be scared for the rest of our lives." Boomer added. "Oui, zey got to pay for zis crime." Antoine continued. "Muttski wants to fight, but only if miss Jula trains us." Muttski finished. "Such brave kids. Kind of like me at their age." Julayla said charmed by the little tykes.

"So you'll help us?" Rosie asked. "Of course. I'll contact a few old friends, tell them to gather groups of warriors to fight for freedom. Then we'll train the kids." Julayla answered. "But…shouldn't we contact GUN?" Rosie asked. "You know they won't listen. There's nothing more stubborn then an Overlander. This Julian is no ordinary man, I've seen the madness and the evil genius when I saw him the first time, I realized what he was. But no one else did. I tried to prepare everyone, but GUN thought I turned rogue and was booted off." Julayla answered.

"So, what are you planning to do?" Rosie asked. "Learning the kids to work from the shadows. Listen, why don't you and the kids gather some vegetables from the garden, they need to be well-fed before we start their training." Julayla suggested.

This was the start of Namgge's rampage. He used the Badniks and the Swatbots to conquer, because there were civilians inside the Nik-suits, it made most military forces reluctant to fight, and even then Julian knew how to fight them, since he developed most of their weaponry and knew the flaws. Everyone had played into his hands, and soon he was the ruler of nearly all of Mobius.

Soon, he dubbed himself 'Dr. Eggman', after the nickname that was given to him by young Sonic, and because of his obvious Egg-like shape. But he started to like it, in his own words, it was 'silly, but at the same time awesome'. He had embraced it to the point he added the 'Egg'-Prefix to all his machinery. Egg Mobile, Egg Pawns, Egg Carrier…

But from the shadows, Julayla has come true to her word. Indeed GUN didn't want to believe her, but select groups of Mobians did, they banded together and set up chapters of resistance around the world. They would fight for justice, for freedom. The Freedom Fighters.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. First Mission

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z

CHAPTER THREE: FIRST MISSION

Ten years…that long has the villainous Dr. Eggman, formerly known as Julian Namgge, had control over most of the world. While there were few nations and kingdoms free of his reign, Eggman toyed with them, he knew that with the civilians trapped in the Badnik suits they couldn't attack directly. Also no one knew but him how to get the Badnik suits off. Also most of the territories he had taken were reduced to industrial and polluted wastelands.

But there was hope. Around the world, groups of rebels calling themselves the Freedom Fighters have been fighting back in any way they could. From the shadows, they have been performing quick hit and run tactics, guerilla-like strategies and sabotage works. It wasn't the fastest, but perhaps the most effective way. Though Eggman was crafty and he wouldn't go down anytime soon.

We are now taking a look at a particular Freedom Fighter group. And they'd soon go on their first mission. They had joined other Freedom Fighter groups in various missions, but now they're their own team and now they do their first mission as the Freedom Fighters of the Emerald Archipelago (containing South Island, West Side Island and Northern Island).

We can now see the same kids Julayla has offered to train a long time ago, now having grown into teens. Young Sonic was now one handsome young man, his blue quills long and stylish, sporting two metallic gauntlets around his arm. In these gauntlets secret components with provisions, a communicator and secret compartments were stored. Also they were great for punching. "Blue Blur for T-2, ball ready to get in motion." He said over his communicator.

Sonic was talking to his little brother, Miles Prower, but everyone calls him Tails these days for an obvious reason. His two tails were no longer mere cute fluffy ornaments. Now he used them to fly like helicopter blades. The young fox was the youngest, but he was incredibly smart and skilled with mechanics for his age. It was reflected by the brown gloves and boots and belt of tools, giving him the mechanic look, as well as the goggles and red scarf "T-2 for Blue Blur, I'm scouting the place right now! We need to blind the eagles." he said over his communicator. It was easy to see what he was referring too, as some flying robots patrolled the place.

"T-2 here, the eagles need to be blinded. Agent Bomberman, ready to make blind the eagles?" T-2 said. He was talking to the purple walrus Boomer, now referred to as 'Rotor' by anyone. He too was very smart and skilled in mechanics. He thought Tails the basics, but when Tails showed himself more adept then Rotor, he decided to put his skills to weaponry and demolitions. That's why besides a yellow cap he had nothing but belts and straps of bombs and ammo around his body. "Bomberman here, making the eagles blind." He said as he pulled out a bazooka like weapon and fired a missile at a radio tower, damaging it. The destruction of that tower messed up the sense of direction of the flying robots, making them fly into each other or crash into various objects. "Eagles are blinded, London Bridge has fallen, the King's horses and King's men are coming in. Prepare agent Sitting Duck." Rotor said back.

"Agent Sitting Duck, you ready?" Tails asked. "Agent Peking Duck here, ready for distraction." Muttski replied. The goofy canine still hasn't lost his strange speech pattern. Muttski was still a brown dog with black hair, now wearing a collar and some really weird orange and grey gloves. "No Muttski, you're Sitting Duck." Tails moaned, Muttski always forgetting his codename. "That doesn't matter, just distract them okay?" Sonic said over the communicator. Muttski saw the guard robots, who came to check out who took out the radio tower. Muttski jumped out of his hiding place, thinking: "Why is Muttski always the bait.", before he appeared in front of the robots and started singing: "Muttski's wild about Harry, and Harry's wild about Muttski…The heavenly blisses, of Harry's kisses, fills me with exta-Yaargh!" Muttski had to soon run away as the robotic guards chased him down.

"Sitting Duck has the King's horses and the King's man on his trail, agents French Fry and Walnut, prepare to make London Bridge fall down." Tails said, overlooking everything from above. Antoine, now a hansome young man, sporting blue pants, brown boots and a red shirt with an orange scarf, as well as bandages around his hands. "Agent French Fry 'ere, me and agent Walnut are going to make London Breedge fall!" he replied.

He was joined by Sally Acorn, now grown into a beautiful young woman. Her red hair was restyled, she wore a blue vest and boots, black shorts, a white t-shirt with an acorn symbol and black gloves with white fingers. "They're nearly there…" Sally said as she saw Muttski leading the robots into the trap. "Now!" she ordered as both she and Antoine caused a rockslide. Muttski turned around to the robots, waved and said: "Bye-bye!" before the robots were buried under the rocks. "London bridge fell down, ready to infiltrate Scrap Brain!" Sally said as she, Muttski and Antoine headed for the factory. Sonic, Rotor and Tails regrouped as well and followed them.

"Okay, listen up. Me, Tails and Sonic will go down the center of the factory to collect the data, while Antoine, Rotor and Muttski will save any prisoners they might find inside the factory. Keep communications open at all time, understood? But be careful, it's not because we took out the flying bots and the ground troops, there won't be security." Sally said, the others nodded in agreement. "Okay, then let's go!" she said as the group headed for the factory.

Sonic, Sally and Tails' group snuck around, staying clear of any hazards along the way. "Okay, how do we find what we're looking for?" Sonic asked. "Simple: the more security, the closer we are." Sally explained. "Then where that bunch of dumb-bots are patrolling, we're really likely to find it?" he asked as they saw a bunch of robots patrol, but they kept going in circles around the same place. "Most likely. You think you can distract them?" Sally asked.

"No prob, Sal." Sonic said smiling as he rushed off. He appeared as a blue streak in front of the robots, who only saw him briefly but were curious what the blue blur was and left their posts. They gathered in a group around a certain spot. "Yahoo!" Sonic was swinging on a hook chain and knocked the guard bots over, domino style. Then he curled up into a ball and spin-dashed them into pieces. "We're good to go." Sonic said as he gave a thumbs up to Sally and Tails.

They headed through the door and found themselves around a corridor. Tails puts on his goggles. "Stop! Invisible laser traps! Classic, but effective." Tails noted. "Can we disable them or bypass them?" Sally asked. "I see a switch in the distance. But you'll have to put your acrobatics to the test to get there aunt Sally." Tails explained. Sally had helped Sonic and Rosie raise Tails, causing him to refer to Sally as 'aunt Sally'. "No problem, can I borrow your goggles?" Sally asked. Tails handed the goggles, Sally used them to see the lasers, and then performed a set of flips and acrobatic tricks to bypass the lasers, get to the switch and turn them off. "Done!" she said.

Sonic whistled in admiration. "I love it when she does that." He commented. "You love everything she does." Tails whispered to him. "I know." Sonic said as they met up with Sally again. They headed down another corridor, and found themselves in a large computer room. "This is it, the mainframe of the Scrap Brain." Sally noted. "I can't almost believe it used to be my Uncle's lab." Sonic noted. It appeared he was going to let a tear drop, but he held himself in check. But Sally noticed this. "You miss him do you?" Sally asked. Sonic nodded.

"I'll just get started on this…see if Eggman has managed to pull some info out of Uncle Chuck's old mainframe." Tails said as he pulled out a laptop and connected it to the larger computers. "I don't know yet what defenses he has set up, so be prepared to cover me in case my hacking causes an alarm or something." Tails explained. "Will do, little bro." Sonic assured.

Meanwhile, Antoine, Muttski and Rotor headed for a different part of the factory. "I detect some bio-signatures, but they're vague and none of them come from the dungeons." Rotor noted as he checked his scanners. "And that means?" Antoine asked. "They're probably prepared for Badnik conversion, interrogation or experimenting. We have no time to lose!" Rotor said. Muttski raises his hand as he looked serious all of a sudden. "Something wrong, Muttski?" Rotor asked. "Muttski smells something…a few familiar scents. Not Badniks or robots." Muttski explained. "Lead us to it Muttski, it might be useful." Rotor said. "Follow Muttski's nose!" Muttski said excited as he pointed in the distance and led Rotor and Antoine to it. "He is so strange, non?" Antoine stated. "Yep, but his nose never lies." Rotor added.

They went down a few corridors, avoiding some robots along the way. They then came across a lab of sorts. The science drones working there were doing all sorts of things like managing equipment, mixing chemicals and collecting data. Rotor grabbed a bomb from his belt, tossed it and disabled all the drones with an EMP pulse. "That should keep them down for a while. Now Muttski, what was it you smelled?" Rotor asked. Muttski sniffed the air and pointed at a few pods in the distance. "There!" he said. The moved towards the pods. Most of the pods had a light that flashed red, but two pods' light flashed green.

"What's inside the pods?" Antoine asked. Rotor turned to a computer a worker drone was working with earlier. "Oh my Walkers…that's disgusting." Rotor commented. "What eez it?" Antoine asked curiously. "Eggman was experimenting with cybernetics, different from the Badnik suits, replacing organic bodyparts with cybernetics. But the process is disgusting and most of the test subjects died. The green lights indicate the only two survivors of the experiments." Rotor answered. "Mon Dieu, I am going to be sick." Antoine said, looking a bit pale. "Muttski is freaked out." Muttski said. "No time to lose, we need to save the last surviving test subjects, they're still Mobians and they need saving." Rotor said. "Who are ze subjects?" Antoine asked. "Dunno, their names aren't in the data banks. Eggman doesn't care about the names of his victims, he just calls them by code." Rotor said as he moved towards the pods. He rubbed the glass window in the pods, removing the damp as he saw who were inside… "Muttski, I think I know why the scents you smelled were so familiar…"

Tails started hacking away as he tried to pull as much data as he could from the computer. "Uncle Chuck sure was smart, Eggman hasn't been able to decode the data he left behind. I just hope I'll be able to do so at HQ once I gathered it all." Tails said as he continued hacking away. "Uncle Chuck must have left a clue of sorts for us, one we would understand. It has to be." Sonic said, clenching his fists. Sally puts a hand on his shoulder: "Don't worry, we'll get him back, I'm sure of it." She comforted him.

"Okay, I got all the files related to Uncle Chuck…I'm surprised I didn't trip any alarms while hacking." Tails said as he deconnected the cable from his laptop, only for an loud alarm noise to fill the room. "I shouldn't have said that." Tails moaned. "No matter, we got what we came for, now we got to scram!" Sonic said as the trio wanted to run off.

They ran through the corridors, but soon several Swatbots blocked their way. Sonic used his speed, in combination with his gauntlets to deliver some high-speed punches that scrapped the machines. Sally pulled out two sticks from her belt, which shifted into a pair of tonfa which she used to fight off the robots, skillfully destroying them. Tails, despite being young was trained by both Sonic and Sally and also had some combat skills. He used his tails as weapons to block any blows but also to cut through the Swatbots.

"Keep going, we can't slow down now." Sonic said. They had scrapped every robot in their way so far, but then they found a single robot blocking their path. He was tall, had a green and silver color scheme and was very mantis-like. "This one's new." Sonic noted. "Greetings, Freedom Fighters. My name is Slicer. Machine Gereral Mark I of the Eggman Empire." The robot greeted. "I'm Sonic the hedgehog and you are in our way." Sonic stated as he attempted to spin-dash into Slicer, but Slicer was smarter, stronger and faster than the average dumb-bot. He jumped aside and kicked Sonic in the side of his curled up form and pinned him to the wall with his foot.

"Though your quest is noble, I'm afraid I can't allow you to get away with your price." Slicer noted. "Try us!" Sonic said as he vibrated his molecules to break free from his awkward position and kicked Slicer away from him. Sonic attempted to punch him, but Slicer held his blade-like arms out to block the punch. "Go, I'll keep bugface busy!" Sonic said. "But…" Sally said. "We've got this far, we won't let it get ruined. Now go, I'll catch up later." Sonic said. Sally didn't like it, but they had no choice. The info they gathered is too important right now and they ran off, leaving Sonic to Slicer.

"Very noble of you, holding me off so your friends can escape. I have a feeling that from you I can get the fight I seek." Slicer stated as he swiped at Sonic with his blade arms. "If it's a fight you want, I'm glad to give you one." Sonic said as he dodged and spin-dashed in Slicer's gut, knocking him into the wall. But Slicer caught the curled up Sonic in his claws and tossed him aside. He tried to bring down his scythes, but Sonic caught them in his hands, before kicking Slicer in the gut and knocking him back. Sonic tried and Axe kick, but Slicer blocks using his arms. Slicer then tried to deliver a whole range of rapid swipes, but Sonic dodged them using his speed and reflexes. Sonic tried using several speed punches, but Slicer's reflexes were good enough to dodge all the punches. "You have skill, I won't deny that hedgehog." Slicer said. "You too, but there's much at stake here, so don't expect me to hold back." Sonic replied. "I wouldn't want you to, only when fighting one at their best, I can get the satisfaction I seek." Slicer commented.

Sally and Tails had ran further ahead while Sonic fought Slicer. But that didn't mean they were out of the fire just yet. Another robot blocked their path. This one looked as fearsome as the other, but this one was crab-based with a typical red color scheme. "Oh great, another one. Who are you? Seafood Supreme?" Tails asked. "My name is Crabmeat." He introduced himself. Sally and Tails busted out into laughter. "That's the most ridiculous name I have ever heard." Tails said. "What, I'm a crab! What did you expect. It doesn't matter, I'll skin you alive for breaking in the factory and stealing our research." Crabmeat threatened.

Sally prepared her tonfa as she said: "Try us. Tails, you go ahead, I'll deal with Crabmeat." "But aunt Sally…" Tails argued. "Remember what Sonic said, we came too far to give up now, so bring that data to the HQ. We'll join you later." Sally assured him. Tails nodded as he left. Crabmeat tried to give chase, but Sally blocked his path. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me!" Sally taunted. "That's the idea, red!" Crabmeat said as he lashed with his claws. Sally rolled out of the way and smacked Crabmeat's backside with her tonfa, making him topple.

But Crabmeat recomposed himself and now looked pissed. He lashed with his claws, but Sally skillfully used the tonfa to block all the swipes before she delivered a few swipes herself, hitting her mark, sending Crabmeat stagger back. Crabmeat opened his scissors and shot two energy pellets out of them. Sally put her tonfa together, which became a bo staff, which she twirled around to deflect the energy blasts before struck Crabmeat in the foot, then the stomach, and then in the face. She then used a roundhouse low kick to send Crabmeat on his back, before she pointed the tip of her staff at his chin. "Yield, you have lost." She said.

Crabmeat looked really pathetic right now, as his mechanical face expressed fear. "I'm sorry, I give up, I promise I'll let you go, please don't hurt me." Crabmeat groaned. Sally removed her staff as she said: "Deliver this message to your boss: the Freedom Fighters won't lose to the likes of him." She wanted to leave, but Crabmeat said: "Wait, take me with you. You don't know what it's like to be a machine ordered around by that big fat oaf, I need a new life. Please…I'll be good." Sally hesitated and carefully approached Crabmeat. "Fooled you!" Crabmeat said as he sucker punched Sally, tossing her on the ground.

Then she felt a great pain in her lower back abdomen as she dropped on her knees in pain. She turned around and found her entire backside covered in blood, while Crabmeat held her severed tail in one of his claws. "You should learn to never turn you back to your foe." He said before he kicked Sally in the stomach. "I'll teach you a few other lessons now I'm at it." He said with sadistic glee.

Rotor, Antoine and Muttski looked in awe at the two dames in the pods. "Bunnie and Nicole…after all this time…we find them here." Rotor said, getting emotional. "We must awake them and bring them somewhere safe." Antoine said as he used his sword as a wedge to force open the pods. The two ladies fell out, Antoine and Bunnie catching them in their arms. They had changed a lot since the last time they saw them. Not only because they now were cyborgs, but also because they were now teens like them. Bunnie's hair was long blond and flowing, and despite her cybernetic lower legs, lower right arm, left arm, upper left half of her face and left ear, she could be considered beautiful. Nicole was still recognizable, but her eyes and her upper torso and arms were cybernetic like Bunnie.

"Bunnie, wake up." Antoine begged. Bunnie's eyes slowly opened as she instantly recognized her saviors: "Boomer? Antoine? Muttski? Is that you? Oh my gosh, I can't believe ah see ya afta all this time." She said. "We too. Oh, Eggman will pay for what he 'as done to vous!" Antoine said. "Nicole's waking up too." Boomer said. Nicole's cybernetic eyes opened, but there was something off about them. She roared like a tiger and clawed at them, they barely managed to dodge it. "Nicole, no, it's Boomer, Antoine and Muttski! Don't you remember Boomer, Antoine and Muttski?" Muttski said. Apparently Nicole didn't as she pounced at them, but Bunnie reacted by turning her left arm in a gun, blast Nicole and knock her out.

"I stunned her for now, carry her along as we ditch this place." Bunnie suggested as she barely got up, but still clearly struggled keeping her balance in her new form. "Nobody goes anywhere." A strange voice, sounding like buzzing growled. Something flew over their heads as they ducked to dodge. They then saw a wasp-like robot flying in front of them. "Buzzbomber is my name, and I'm master Eggman's best machine soldier. And I'm going to destroy you Freedom Fighters." He introduced himself. "Have you heard yourself talk? It sounds like a swarm of hyperactive flies!" Rotor mocked him.

"I know what you are but what am I?" Buzzbomber replied immaturely. "Look, we're over there!" Antoine said as he pointed behind Buzzbomber. "Oh, ok…" he said as he turned around, only to realize he'd been duped, cause when he turned back to where our heroes stood, they were gone. "Gr…I can't believe I fell for that." He said as he flew after them. He chased the four (five if you count Nicole being carried on Muttski's back. Buzzbomber aimed his stinger and fired it like a missile. Rotor turned around, tosses a bomb in front of the missile, and both blew up. Buzzbomber chased them, and despite his speed he was about to catch up. "I'm gonna get ya!" he buzzed.

"Look behind you, a monkey." Rotor said. "Oh no, not falling for that one again." Buzzbomber said. "You're right, it's just the wall." Rotor said. "Oh really?" Buzzbomber said dumbly as he turned around. "You're right, it's the wa…hey!" Buzzbomber groaned as he realized he'd been duped again. He wanted to give chase, but he heard some beeping coming from his back: Rotor has planted an explosive. "Oh Crud!" BOOM!

Sonic was fighting Slicer and the two seemed to be matched. But then Sonic heard a familiar scream down the corridor: "Sally! Sorry, knife guy, but someone needs me right now!" Sonic said as he vibrated his molecules through a wall and headed towards Sally. Slicer was awfully calm about it. "Such interesting creature, a true example of horror, abandoning the fight in favor for his loved ones. I'm glad to have fought him, and I hope my path shall cross his one soon again." Slicer said.

Sonic arrived on the scene where Sally had fought Crabmeat, who had Sally up by his neck in his claws, holding her severed and mangled looking tail in his other claw. "Sal…" Sonic said in panic. "Your girl was such a fool, I pulled up the whole 'I'll be good, don't hurt me' routine and she fell for it, now she paid the price with her tail." Crabmeat mocked. Sonic wanted to move towards Crabmeat to hurt him, but… "Na-ah, one more step and I snap her neck like a toothpick!" Crabmeat warned him. Sonic couldn't do anything.

But something surprising happened: something silver flew by, knocked into Crabmeat's arm, and made him let go of Sally. Sonic didn't waste any time and spin-dashed into Crabmeat, who staggered back. Sonic picked up Sally and ran off with her, but not before saying: "Good for you I don't have time, but next time I see you, I'll make crab salad out of you." Crabmeat growled as he saw the two escape. Then Crabmeat saw a familiar face entering the room.

"Slicer! You let them escape! I could finish them, why did you stop me?" Crabmeat growled. "Because the way you scored your victory is dishonorable, you have not bested her in a fight, but through dirty trickery, and that should be no way to win." Slicer answered. "I don't care, they are the enemy, we need to destroy them." Crabmeat growled. "We will…but not today, but at the right moment, when the great honorable fight finally comes. That's the true way to go for a warrior, and I want to grant them a respectful dead." Slicer said. "Master Eggman won't be glad with you." Crabmeat said. "Neither with you…" Slicer reminded him.

Tails had managed to be fine on his own, slicing through Swatbots and making his way out of the Scrap Brain. He flew in the sky, looking out for his friends. He then sees Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie and Muttski with Nicole on his back, and then Sonic carrying Sally. "Guys!" Tails said, waving at them. He then noticed Bunnie, Sally and Nicole. "I see you managed to save some prisoners and…geez, what has Eggman done to them? Oh my Walkers, aunt Sally…" "No time to discuss, we must get back at Freedom HQ, they need medical attention." Sonic said. The heroes ran off, Rotor pulling out a switch "I left a little surprise before I left!" he pushed a button and the factory exploded behind them…

At the HQ, Sally got tended to by Rosie. The remains of her tail were bandaged up. "There, you need to take it slow for a while but you'll be fine. I'm sorry this had to happen on your first mission by yourselves." "It's nothing, what is one tail when we gained so much more, we got the data and we got our long lost friends back." Sally said. "Oh ah can't believe it this is happenin'. After all these years of slavery in the mines, and horrible experiments, ah am back with ya guys." Bunnie said, tears flowing from her organic eye. "Too bad Nicole's mind is a bit messed up. I think the cybernetic implants don't connect with her as well as you." Rotor stated.

"No worries, I'll hack her brain implants with my laptop and undo some of the programming." Tails said as he connected his laptop to an implant in Nicole's neck. "Ah can't believe how much the little sugah-fox has grown. It musta have been longer then I thought." Bunnie said delighted. "We are all glad to have you back." Antoine said. "You're such a sweetie, sugah-Twan…ah must say puberty was really kind to ya." Bunnie said as she then stared at her cybernetics. "Ah can't say the same." She added sadly. "Hey, you're still Bunnie on the inside are you?" Boomer assured her. "You're right. And now I'll make that Egghead pay, and ah'll use my cybernetics as a weapon against him." Bunnie said confidently.

They then saw Sonic sitting at Sally's side at her bed. "Is there somethin' goin' on between Sonic and Sally-girls?" she asked. "Yep, but they're too shy to admit." Boomer said. Sonic spoke to Sally: "I'm sorry I left you behind Sal. If I wasn't busy fighting the mantis dude, I…" he said. "No, it was my own fault. It was a robot, but I showed him remorse, and he took advantage of that. I was weak…" Sally argued. "You're strong Sal, you don't kill because you can, that's Eggman's job. You'll be back on your feet in no time and kick his crabby can." Sonic said. The two looked each other in the eyes, and they moved closer to each other…

"Muttski made buns!" They moved apart, while everyone looked sour at him. "Muttski came at a bad time?" Muttski asked obviously. "I can't hack her cybernetics…there is something off about it. Wait, maybe I can find something in Uncle Chuck's data that might help." Tails said as he put the disc in the computer. But then the whole thing short-circuited and Nicole's body spazzed, before the eyes went dim. "Oh no, what have I done, I killed her." Tails said in panic. "Ouch, my head…" a familiar voice said. Tails looked at the screen of his computer and was surprised to see Nicole's form without cybernetics appear on the screen.

"Nicole?" Tails asked. "Tails? Is that you? Wow, you've grown. You finally managed to save me from Eggman's clutches, thank goodness…but why am I in this odd room?" Nicole asked. "Er…Nicky-gal…you're not in a room." Bunnie explained. Nicole then saw her body lie down. "Wait, I'm here, but I'm also there…" Nicole said surprised. "Your mind has been transferred in my computer…it must have been some sort of program on Uncle Chuck's files." Tails explained.

"So, I'm a program now. No, not now, always was. I was just a program, but I combined with the brain patterns of the real Nicole…she was far gone, her body rejected the cybernetics, she would have died anyway. I am a backup of her mind, nothing more. I'm not the real Nicole." Nicole said as the realization struck her. "No, you're still our friend Nicole from long ago." Sally assured her. "No, I'm not. I'm sorry, but I can't be a replacement of the real Nicole. I'm a program meant to decode the files of Charles Hedgehog, I became sentient through a stupid accident. Your friend is dead, mourn her, but don't get attached to me. I'll just fulfill my purpose by aiding you with these files." Nicole said.

"But…" Sonic argued, but Nicole didn't listen. "Please don't! It's not up to debate. You managed to at least save Bunnie and acquire this valuable info, and you can make most of it by letting me do as I was programmed. You already accomplished a lot, and probably, the real me will not be the last casualty you suffer. So please, celebrate this victory for now, don't mind me…"

At Eggman's lair in the Metropolis Zone, a repaired Buzzbomber, Crabmeat and Slicer appeared in front of their master. Eggman now had cybernetic eyes with black scleras, metal ears and a cybernetic arm due to incident with Charles years ago. "Can anyone explain how a group of rookie freedom fighters managed to infiltrate my factory and steal not only valuable data but two of my only surviving test subjects?" he growled. The robotic monkey that was on his shoulder hissed at them.

"I had one of them, but Slicer stopped me from killing her." Crabmeat argued. "He had lost his fight with her but refused to accept it and used a dirty trick to get her, my honor couldn't allow that." Slicer said honestly. "You see, he betrayed you." Crabmeat said. "Oh, who is the one who tried to put rat poison in my coffee five times this month?" Eggman argued. Crabmeat went silent. "Tell me exactly what happened Slicer…" Eggman asked. "Well, first there was this blue hedgehog…" Slicer said. "Blue hedgehog? It can only be that nephew of Charles, how delightful. You know, Slicer? You did good by letting them live." Eggman said.

"WHAT?" Buzzbomber and Crabmeat said surprised. "I couldn't access Charles' hidden files for years, but maybe his relatives can. They'll decode them, and they'll set off for new missions. All we need to do is to keep a close eye on them, study them and strike when the time is right. They'll save me a lot of trouble." Eggman explained. "I can't believe it, even when he does bad, he does good." Crabmeat moaned, being outshined by Slicer. "But I'm the best, not him, I am!" Buzzbomber buzzed.

"You got blown up by the walrus!" Crabmeat argued. "They cheated!" Buzzbomber argued. "Silence! You are dismissed. I'll prepare my next plan while you wait for further instructions." Eggman belted. The three generals left, Slicer bowing politely before he did. "So…little Maurice and his band of friends think they can take me, Coconuts?" Eggman said to the robotic monkey on his shoulder, who jumped on his desk before Eggman pets him, making the robot monkey squeal in delight. "Well, the last few years have been boring as far as conquest go, but Charles' nephew might…amuse me. I want to see what he can do, it makes destroying him in the end all the more enjoyable." Eggman said before he laughed evilly.

END OF CHAPTER THREE


	4. Lament of a Rabbot

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z

CHAPTER FOUR: LAMENT OF A RABBOT

Bunnie Rabbot (pronounced rab-boh) was new on the team, yet she was an old friend of the Freedom Fighters. After being separated from them for years, she felt good being with them again, but it also felt weird. Bunnie was looking at Sonic and Sally in the gym, having a friendly sparring match. Sonic didn't use his speed, only physical training. She also saw Muttski spar with Antoine, while she saw Rotor and Tails tinkering with some machinery. "Kind of weird being back, isn't it?" a voice asked from behind her.

Bunnie turned around to see Rosie. "Oh…er…yes." Bunnie answered. "But a lot of time has passed since then. And while you recognize the quirks of your friends they used to have, they have changed a lot too." Rosie stated. "Yeah…Sally used to be such a sad little girl…to see her this confident and strong, it's amazing how far she's come. And sugah-hog sure has become one handsome young man. But one thing's for sure: there is still that chemistry between those two. Ah am surprised they haven't hit it off yet." Bunnie said.

"In a time of war one's afraid of losing the other, so they try to hide their feelings, afraid they might feel hurt once they lose each other." Rosie explained. "Aren't they supposed to do da opposite? Enjoy life with each otha as much as they can?" Bunnie asked. "They are still young, with a lot to learn. This cannot be pushed. They'll eventually come to realize this on their own." Rosie answered. Bunnie continued to watch Sally and Sonic spar.

"They really are skilled." Bunnie noted. "Yep, both in their unique way. Sonic has the speed and the quills he can turn harder then steel, but he was taught that it's too easy to rely on them so he had additional combat training. His fighting style is basic, but there is a lot of improvisation on his part, it fits his personality, being rash and impulsive." Rosie explained. "What about Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked. "She doesn't have great strength, but her agility and her nimble body, combined with her skills in about a dozen martial arts really make her a tough foe." Rosie answered.

"A dozen? Whoa, Sonic must have a hard time keeping up." Bunnie said surprised. "It's not about who knows the most tricks, it's how you use them. Sonic has no trouble keeping up with anything. But we can agree that despite their different styles, they are a match for each other. In more than one way." Rosie pointed out.

Bunnie turned her attention to Muttski and Antoine. "It's odd, Muttski has changed the least of all." She said. "Oh, he still acts like a goofball, but he's hiding a lot of pain under that façade, like we all do. You don't underestimate him, cause he's no less of a soldier as the rest of us. His combat skills are basic, but what makes up is his unpredictability. We never know what he'll do, and neither will the foe." Rosie explained.

"But what surprises me is how sugah-Twan has grown. When we were little he was afraid of a lot. But he's so brave and strong now." Bunnie said, recalling how Antoine saved her down in the Scrap Brain Zone. "He was afraid yes, but he was more afraid of losing those he loved more than anything else, so he has come the longest way. But he isn't fearless, no one is. He just realizes now what he should truly be afraid of." Rosie explained. Bunnie then saw how Antoine and Muttski took a break from their sparring match, Antoie removing his now sweaty t-shirt and tooking a sip of his water bottle…Bunnie ogling at his physique: "Oh ma stars…" she said, blushing. "He has grown up rather nicely, didn't he?" Rosie said with a hint of tease to his voice.

She then looked at Tails and Rotor. "Ah never expected for lil' Miles to be part of the team at a young age." Bunnie said. "He has lived a strange childhood. His adoptive brother had to play both a brother and a father to him, while Sally had to be his mother. At a young age he was exposed to what the Freedom Fighters stand for, and really wanted to be one. Sonic and Sally were worried, we all were…but he showed such maturity for his age, and such intelligence. Now we can't think of a team without him." Rosie explained.

"Both Miles and Boomer are skilled with mechanics…aren't you afraid of a rivalry?" Bunnie asked. "No…yes, Boomer was a mechanic before Tails developed his skills, but he has become specialized in weaponry and demolitions, and was glad to let Tails do the other chores. They have their specialties each. Oh, and they're calling themselves Tails and Rotor right now." Rosie answered. "Sorry, still need to get used to that…" Bunnie said.

It was then that Sonic and Sally took a break as well. Sonic took out a candy bar, needing a lot of sugar with his heightened metabolism to keep going. Sally just stretched herself out to get her muscles loose again. "Is this the end of the training?" Bunnie asked. "No not yet, Sally and Antoine always do a bit of weapon training." Rosie answered. It was true as Sally had pulled out her bo staff, and Antoine pulled a dummy sword (it's just a sparring match after all). Though the sword was fake, it looked real…and as Bunnie saw it, she started to panic.

She got images of a dark space, strapped naked on a table, while a robot with various blades sticking out said in a dark voice: "Prepare for surgery…" Bunnie grabbed her heart, while turning back and hyperventilating. "Bunnie, what's going on?" Rosie asked. "N-n-nothin'…" she said as she quickly left. Rosie had a worried look on her face.

Later that day, Bunnie had calmed down and joined the others for lunch. Muttski had cooked and it smelled delicious. "Mh…smells good. You weren't kidding when you said you wanted to be as good a cook as Sonic's uncle." Bunnie said, inhaling the scent of delicious pasta and rich tomato sauce. "Muttski still isn't as good as Sonic's uncle, but Muttski is glad you like it." Muttski said as he put some pasta on her plate. Bunnie tasted it and said: "Whoa, it tastes even betta then it smells. You're amazing Muttski." Bunnie said. "Oh, you make Muttski blush." Muttski said.

"I like the pasta, but I'm clumsy about the noodles…" Sonic said as he tried to curl up the noodles on his plate, only for them to slide off. "Maybe you need to cut it to pieces and scoop it up with your fork." Sally suggested. "Oh, good idea." Sonic said as he took a knife and started cutting his pasta. As Bunnie saw the knife, the images started to reappear, she fell of her chair and huddled into a corner.

"Bunnie, what's up?" Tails asked. "A-A-Ah'm sorry…but every time I see a knife or a blade or anything like that…" Bunnie said as she shivered. "What, how come?" Sonic asked. "How do ya think I got these?" Bunnie said as she raised her cybernetic hands, and immediately everyone realized it. "Oh Bunnie, I'm sorry…" Sonic said. "It's nothin' sugah-hog. Ya couldn't know." Bunnie said. "But what I want to know, how did you end up as a cybor , and why didn't you get turned into a Badnik?" Rotor asked.

"At first, Eggman was planning that. But he found out the Badnik suits don't mix well with kids, he tried to turn a girl my age in a Badnik…and she died." Bunnie explained. The Freedom Fighters turned pale. "Then…how did you wind up with the cybernetics?" Tails asked. "Oh, ah didn't get them for some time. Seeing he can't turn kids into Badniks, he forced the kids into slave labor, while sendin' them to school. But while I learnt all about English and math, I realized at the same time it was a brainwashing. But he couldn't brainwash me, I was too smart for that. When I didn't comply, I was forced to spend a few years fighting in underground fighting tournaments with other prisoners for his sick amusement." Bunnie continued. Now the Freedom Fighters looked disgusted.

Ah have continued to fight for survival…after I was deemed strong enough to survive the progress, I was prepared for conversion into a cyborg. Ya know the rest." She finished. "What about Nicole…where did she fit in?" Sally asked. "She…she was so vulnerable. I had to watch her twenty-four seven and try to talk some courage into her every now and then, or she'd have collapsed. I helped her in the mines, I helped her in the fightin' tournament, I watched her all the way. But I couldn't prevent the whole ordeal from mentally scarring her." Bunnie answered. "Poor thing, no wonder she's so lost…" Sally said.

"We need to help you get over your blade-phobia. If you want to fight alongside us, you have to realize sooner or later you have to confront the fear in the field. Eggman's robots are all weaponized after all." Sonic stated. "Ah'll try to get over it…but it's gonna be hard." Bunnie said. Then the communicators of the Freedom Fighters rang, and they answered. It was Nicole: "Everyone, I have decoded the first part of Uncle Chuck's files." Her voice was dull and monotone. Ever since her current status, Nicole showed little to no emotion, fully immersed in the idea she was a mere program.

"What does it say?" Sally asked. "The first part is some back story on some of his projects. Your uncle had acquired one of the legendary Chaos Emeralds, which as you all know he used to invent Power Rings and Chaos Drives. According to the files, a surge of energy from the Emerald also caused Sonic to be like he is now." Nicole explained. "Really? I always wondered about that. But I don't mind, I look good in blue. Anything else?" Sonic commented. "It also tells the location of the Deep Power Stone." Nicole answered.

"What was that thing again, I was just a kid when I heard my Uncle talk about it." Sonic asked. "It's the stone that produces Power Rings, golden rings imbedded with Chaos Energy. Stronger then a Chaos Drive, but weaker than an Emerald." Nicole answered. "Well, where is it?" Sonic asked. "He has left the location in riddle form, to make it not so easy. The riddle says: 'In which vegetable you can get lost?'" Nicole answered. "Uncle Chuck was always good at riddles. Too bad I'm not." Sonic noted.

"I got it! Maize. Corn is also called maize, maize sounds like maze, something you can get lost in." Tails concluded. "Tails, you are a lifesaver." Sonic said. "But which maze would Nicole be talking about?" Rotor asked. "The Labyrinth Zone. A labyrinth is a maze." Tails said again. "Have I told you I'm glad you're on our team?" Sonic added. "No time to waste, we need to get to the Labyrinth Zone. With a set of Power Rings at our disposal, we can already accomplish much." Sally said. "Er…Sal, you know about me and water?" Sonic stated. "Can't ya swim?" Bunnie asked. "I can't even if I wanted. My molecular density is too big, I can run over water if I pick up enough speed, but if I stop even for a second, I'll sink like a brick. The Chaos energy that gave me my powers also gave me a weakness." Sonic explained.

"And you probably won't fare well in water either. The cybernetics are waterproof, but they don't exactly float either." Tails warned Bunnie. "Then we'll split up in teams: Sonic, Bunnie and Antoine will go on land and explore the ruins of the Labyrinth Zone. Me, Tails, Muttski and Rotor are adept swimmers so we'll check out underwater." Sally said. "But, eez eet wise for Bunnie to join us so soon?" Antoine asked. "Ya don't have to worry about me sugah-Twan. I'm a big gal. Besides, ah don't think aquatic badniks specialize in blade weapons. And ah'm on the surface, where the least badnik activity will go on." Bunnie said. "With that said, pack your supplies and be ready for the mission."

The Labyrinth Zone used to be a beautiful place. It was the remains of an ancient city, and a huge tourist attraction. But Eggman's digging and industrialization destabilized the ground under it to become unstable and part of it sunk into an underground lake. Eggman's Badniks were looking for ancient treasure or other stuff from ancient times the mad doctor could use. If the Deep Power Stone was really here, he hadn't found it yet.

Tails, Rotor, Muttski and Sally were wearing scuba diving suits (Tails having a hole for his tails so he can use them as a propeller). "Okay, we're ready to go under. Sonic, Bunnie, Antoine, stay on your toes at all times. And Bunnie, I know you want to help, but at the first sign of trouble, you retreat, no questions asked." Sally said. "Ah will Sally-Girl!" Bunnie answered. The divers put on their masks and went into the water, while the other group broke off and explored the ruins above water.

Under water, Sally showed her swimming skills, Muttski dogpaddled, Tails uses his namesakes as a propeller, and Rotor was as a walrus adept in the water. There they saw several Robian-like beings: Badniks. Modified with air tanks and harpoon launchers for aquatic-related jobs. They were joined by several piranha-like robots, who acted as underwater-watch dogs. "The scans indicate no chaos energy, but the signature can be shielded. We need to keep our eyes open, to something that's easy to overlook. Something Eggman wouldn't find…" Sally noted to the others.

"There has to be a hidden switch somewhere, maybe one of the idols here or the drawing is just a little off. We need to study them up close, but it will be hard with those Badniks swimming around." Tails suggested. "I say we take them out first. But don't hurt them too much, they're still people inside. Force them on the surface or something." Sally said. "Got it!" the others said.

Meanwhile, Sonic, Bunnie and Antoine were exploring the dry surface. There were no Badniks, but there were other robots, mole-like with drills for noses. "Burrobots. They shouldn't be too tough. We can take them." Sonic said. "Sugah-Twan, ya don't mind keeping ya sword down for this fight…ah still need to deal with ma issue." Bunnie asked. "Oh…oui, I understand. I can take zhese Burrobot without." Antoine answered. "Let's see who can pop the most?" Sonic asked Antoine. "Eet eez on!" Antoine said as they rushed at the Burrobots. "Men!" Bunnie said as she rolled her organic eye.

Under water, Sally got the attention of a group of Badniks. She grabbed her bo staff and used it to pierce one of the Badnik's air containers, and it instinctively swam to the surface. Another one aimed a harpoon at her, but she blocked with her staff, making the harpoon get stuck in the staff. She pulled it out and pierced the air tank, forcing that Badnik back to the surface as well. Then several Piranha bots came closer but she swats them with her stuff, and they crash into a wall into pieces.

Muttski swam away really fast from the Badniks that were swimming after him. But the Badniks soon found themselves stuck when Muttski had led them in a forest of seaweed, in which they got tangled up. Muttski wasn't out of danger as the piranha bots bit themselves loose and continued chasing them. He swam into a dead end and the Piranha's were about to swarm him. But Muttski did something weird: he did some kind of underwater ballet…the robots, beings of logics couldn't understand this strange reaction…before Muttski kicks them away and knocks them into a wall, shattering them. Muttski bows and swims away.

Tails managed to stay ahead of the Badniks chasing him using his tails to swim really fast. But he couldn't keep this up forever as his tails would eventually tired out. They fired some harpoons at him, but Tails dodged, one embedding in a nearby wall. Tails plucked it loose, rushed at the Badniks and cut the hoses of their air tanks, forcing them to the surface. Several Piranha bots advanced on him, but he pierces them on his harpoon like a fish-kebab.

Rotor has swam to the surface, seeing how the scuba-badniks were forced back on land. He saw a set of spare air tanks for the badniks. He grabbed a bomb and used to blow them up, preventing the Badniks from going back into the water. He then dived under water, facing the remaining Badniks. He dodged the harpoons and grabbed them, head butting them into one another before pulling the air tanks of their backs. When the Piranha bots advanced on him, he took out a gun of sorts, which fired small torpedoes that got rid of the piranha bots.

Sonic was seen homing attacking some Burrobots into Burro-bits, while Antoine had taken the head of a destroyed Burrobot and used it to drill into the other Burrobots. Bunnie just used her cybernetic arms' built-in sonic cannons. "Yee-ha! Take that!" she shouted. Antoine and Sonic looked at her awkwardly. "What? Can't a gal enjoy herself?" she asked. The Burrobots had been no match, and they were all scrapped. "I took down the most, I win!" Sonic boasted. "Pfu! If I had super vitesse as well, I would do that too." Antoine said. But it was far from over. Suddenly, Sonic picked up a sound: "Duck!" he said as he pushed himself, Bunnie and Antoine to the ground as they barely avoided a flying projectile.

"What was…" Bunnie asked, before she saw the projectile that nearly missed her was long, thin and blade-like…and Bunnie felt more panic rising in her. They looked up, and from the ceiling, several mantis-like robots, different from Slicer, in purple and more ninja-esque could be seen. "Wh-what are they?" Bunnie asked frightfully. "Kama-Kama's! Unlike that Slicer guy with his honorable samurai persona, these are sneaky cheating ninja's!" Sonic growled. Bunnie could see their blade-like arms, and she immediately started to hyperventilate. "Antoine, Bunnie's panicking, bring her somewhere safe, I'll hold them off." Sonic suggested. "Right…" Antoine said as she puts one of Bunnie's arms around his shoulder and dragged her off, while Sonic spin-dashed in a few Kama-Kama's.

"D-d-da b-b-bl…" Bunnie mumbled. "Do not worry, Bunnie. I'll protect you from these horreurs." Antoine assured her. However, a group of Kama-Kama's had broken away from the group Sonic was fighting and appeared in front of them. "Bunnie, stand back, I'll try to fight them off." Antoine said as Bunnie crawled into a crevice in the wall big enough as Antoine pulled his sword (he had no choice) as he engaged the Kama-Kama's. Bunnie hugged herself as the images of the lab table and the painful surgery reemerged in her mind.

Antonie sliced through a first Kama-Kama, while another tried to sneak up on him he got sliced to bits too. Two others fired their arms like projectiles, but Antoine blocked using his sword, deflecting the projectiles, which accidentally beheaded two other Kama-Kama's. But there were more. One of them took Antoine by surprise. He could see the robot in time to dodge, but his sword was knocked out of his hand. He tried to fight them with his bare hands, since his blade was out of reach, and he delivered a few kicks, but he got scratched on his arm by one of them. He rolled out of the way of a second swipe, but his arm started to sting and he was distracted when another Kama-Kama kicked him with his clawed feet, sending him into a wall.

The Kama-Kamas had Antoine cornered and raised their blade-like arms to finish him off…but then something beheaded the two. Behind them, Antoine saw Bunnie, having picked up his sword to save him. "Bunnie…you…" he said. "Ah've seen too many people die, and ah won't my friend be the next." Bunnie said as she handed Antoine's sword back. "So, you wanna unleash some whoop-ass on these bugbots?" she asked. "Mais oui, mon Southern Belle!" Antoine said as he picked up his sword again. Now the remaining Kama Kama's would be made short work off.

Bunnie used her sonic cannons to obliterate most of them, but if one managed to get close enough, she's use her strength to scrap them. And when they would launch their arms, she'd shoot them out of the sky or dodge. Antoine was rapidly cutting the mantis-like robots to peaces while agilely dodging the arms. Soon the two had obliterated them all. Bunnie looked confident at first, but then she collapsed on her knees. "Bunnie, are you okay?" Antoine asked worried. "Ah'm fine, but it drains ya mentally when ya overcome a fear that big." Bunnie answered. "Bunnie, you are magnifique. Such strength you 'ave shown, physical and emotionally…" Antoine said. "Ya have become strong too, you've grown up." Bunnie replied. "I wanted to become strong so that in the future, I could save you and Nicole. You were my reason for becoming strong." Antoine admitted. "Oh, sugah-Twan…" Bunnie said blushing.

Sonic just had finished scrapping the last Kama-Kama. "Oof, that was a good work-out, I just hope Bunnie and Antoine…" Sonic said, wiping the sweat of his forehead and leaning against a gargoyle, only for the gargoyle to collapse and a secret passage behind it was revealed. "What the…" Sonic said as he looked behind it. He then saw a room, filled with water to knee-height, stacks of Power Rings and a big glowing rock in the center. "The Deep Power Stone…" Sonic said. He picked up one of the rings as he said: "So this is a Power Ring, I wonder what…" he said as the ring glowed, then vanished. But Sonic felt a sudden burst of energy.

Sally, Muttski, Tails and Rotor had crawled out of the water, having found nothing, as Bunnie and Antoine rejoined them. "Hi, Sally-girl, how was the search?" Bunnie asked. "We found nothing but some Badniks and Jaws." Sally said. "That eez a shame…but listen, earlier, we were ambushed by ze mantis ninja robots non, and Bunnie was incroyable, she overcame her fear and made scrap of ze robots." Antoine said gleefully. "Really? Wow…I wish I could have seen you in action." Rotor said impressed. "Ah, it was nuthin'. Nothing you guys would have done." Bunnie said.

Then a blue blur rushed by several times, and each time the blur passed, it dropped several Power Rings, and near the end, the blue blur dropped down the Deep Power Stone, and Sonic stopped. "Sonic, you found the stone. But where?" Sally asked surprised. "Behind a gargoyle, on the surface. This thing has been producing Power Rings for years. I absorbed the power of one and I was able to increase my speed even further and boost my strength enough for me to carry this stone briefly." Sonic explained.

"Okay, Bunnie, you can carry this stone to HQ? The rest of us shall carry the rings." Sally said. Bunnie lifted the big Deep Power Stone over her head with one hand, while the others had their arms full of Power Rings. Sonic put his rings in his backpack to prevent absorbing them, since he didn't want to waste them. "While we head back to HQ, tell us how you handled those mantis bots, Bunnie…" Tails asked. "Sure, sugah-fox…you see ah was surrounded…"

At Eggman's HQ, Crabmeat brought a report to Eggman himself. "Master…the Deep Power Stone has been found, but the Freedom Fighters got it. And the Kama-Kama's have been all scrapped." "It seems the filthy ninja is in the end inferior to the noble samurai." Slicer quoted. "Oh shut up you…" Crabmeat groaned. "Master, shall we make attempts at recovering the stone?" Slicer asked. "No…" Eggman said. "What? Why not? Those Power Rings…" Crabmeat argued. "…are nothing to the Chaos Emeralds. The Deep Power Stone is a nice bonus but it won't make much difference. Besides, I already have collected a huge amount of rings before Charles hid that big rock. And I only need one in the end…and I'll use it when the time is right…"

END OF CHAPTER


	5. The Place Where I Was Born

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z

CHAPTER FIVE: THE PLACE WHERE I WAS BORN

At Freedom HQ, the Freedom Fighters had installed the Deep Power Stone in their swimming pool, since it needed water to function. But while they got themselves a Power Ring factory, not even a thousand Power Rings could measure up to a Chaos Emerald, and that's why they needed to get started on collecting them. But despite that being their priority, there was a lot of other things on the Freedom Fighter's minds.

Most notable were Nicole's current depressed state. Though the Freedom Fighters told her to them it didn't matter if she was a program or not, to them she was Nicole. But she wouldn't listen…There was one person left to try to talk to her. "Nicole, we want you to see Julayla." Sally suggested. "I don't need talk, I need to work. I just decrypted another clue to the first Chaos Emerald…" Nicole said, but Sally cut her off: "You are going to talk to Julayla, me and the rest will go after that Emerald." Sally said firmly to the handheld Nicole was now.

"It's illogical and insufficient…" Nicole stated. "I'm still the leader and you act on my orders. And I order you to have that talk with Julayla." Sally said as she took the handheld along to Julayla's room, while the others were over the clue she had uncovered. "What do a rookie and a plant have in common?" Rotor read out loud as he saw the clue. "I got to admit, my uncle was clever, but I was never good at riddles." Sonic groaned.

"They're both green! The rookie is green because he starts out, and plants are green." Tails concluded. "Hey, you're right. Tails, you did it again. How do you do it?" Sonic said happily. "A brain like mine needs constant stimulation, you don't think I only read comic books in my spare time? No, I do some puzzles, crosswords, the works." Tails explained. "Then the clue's obvious now. We need to go to the Green Hill Zone." Rotor stated.

"The place where I was born, and where I lived before I met you guys. It's also where my uncle's first lab was, before he built the Scrap Brain." Sonic stated. "Well, the place where you were born is now also the place we start our Emerald Search. Fitting." Bunnie said. "It doesn't matter where we start. As long as we get the Emerald before Egghead does, it's fine by me. We won't let this one slip through our fingers." Sonic said.

"You do know the legend, those who want a Chaos Emerald, need to be tested first, to see if they're worthy." Tails reminded him. "No trial is too big if it means saving the world from that fat bastard. If I'm not worthy, one of you will be, as we fight for Freedom. We are Freedom Fighters!" Sonic said, smacking his fist into his palm.

Sally knocked Julayla's door. "Come in!" she said. Julayla lied in her bed, tubes from her nose and looking weak. "I normally hate to disturb you, but…Nicole is having some trouble with her existence." Sally said. "I have no trouble, this unit functions as it should be…" Nicole said in her monotone. Julayla coughed a bit before she said softly: "Oh yes, the lynx girl. Poor thing. Put the handheld next to me, I'll speak to her. You pick her up later, okay?" Julayla said with a raspy tone in her voice. Sally did so. "I hate to ask this of you, but your wisdom and knowledge has helped us so much in the past and…" Sally said, but Julayla raised her hand: "I understand. Besides, it's still my job as mentor and trainer to make sure the team works fine. Just give me some time with her." Julayla assured her. Sally then thanked Julayla and left.

"Sally insisted on me having a conversation with you concerning my existence. I assure you that there is nothing wrong with me, I function as I am programmed and I am…" Nicole said, but Julayla cut her off: "But do you believe that's what you are? A program?" "I am a program, I was gifted with the decryption coding system and the infiltration and hacking options Charles programmed into me." Nicole said, not changing her tone of voice. "But what about your Mobian side?" Julayla asked. "I have no Mobian side, I just received the memories and brain patterns of the real Nicole. I am and always have been a program." Nicole answered.

"Do you believe that yourself? Haven't you felt emotions, experienced the joyful memories and the sad ones?" Julayla asked. "These memories are of no importance. Don't try to convince me I'm the real Nicole, because I am not." Nicole answered. "Even if you are, I was told that you showed sadness and despair when you first realized you were in this…predicament." Julayla pointed out. "Just a temporary reaction to the income of the memories and brain patterns, but I successfully progressed them and now have reverted to basic program." Nicole explained.

"Or maybe you're just hiding the emotions." Julayla stated. "I am not hiding anything." Nicole said. "You were always, as I was told, a very shy girl, who had trouble opening up, so hiding and penting up emotions comes natural for you." Julayla said. "I'm not hiding…" Nicole repeated. "…trouble fitting in, even amongst your so called friends, not showing them anything of your emotions, of being afraid they might get out of hand…" Julayla continued. "I'M NOT HIDING ANYTHING!" Nicole had finally lost her composure.

"See, you feel threatened. You are aware, you show emotion. And you still think you're a mere program?" Julayla said, having lured Nicole in a state she was forced to face her emotions. "I…I…help me, please, I don't know who or what I am anymore…" Nicole said sadly as Julayla picked up the handheld on the table beside her and spoke to it: "That's why you're here for."

At Eggman's lair in the Metropolis Zone, Crabmeat was doing an experiment. He grabbed some chemicals and poured them together. "This is a delicate experiment…I just hope no one will bother me." Crabmeat thought to himself. "Hi Crabs!" Buzzbomber greeted. "What do you want?" Crabmeat growled. "Hey, you're smart and all. I want to ask: if the door of the fridge door closes, does the light go out?" Buzzbomber asked. "If you want to find out, there's a fridge in the back of the room, now leave me alone!" Crabmeat said as he continued his experiment. Buzzbomber made his way to the fridge, opened it, stared in the light and muttered: "Hello light!" He shuts the door again before reopening it: "Hello light!" and kept repeating this for a while.

Crabmeat continued with his experiments, pouring and mixing and boiling some chemicals before Buzzbomber bothered him again: "Hey Crabmeat, how many pieces of paper are there on a toilet roll?" he asked. "Dunno, don't care, why don't you go count them yourself?" Crabmeat growled as Buzzbomber left. "Finally…some peace and quiet." Crabmeat said. "Crabmeat…" Buzzbomber said again. "What? Aren't you supposed to be counting pieces of toilet paper?" Crabmeat groaned. "I can't count past five." Buzzbomber said. Crabmeat slapped his forehead.

"Hey Crabmeat, how much power is there in an electric socket?" Buzzbomber asked. Crabmeat wanted to strangle him, but had a better idea. He handed a fork to Buzzbomber: "Here, why don't you find out?" he said with a faked kind smile. "Okay!" Buzzbomber said as he buzzed off. Crabmeat worked further on his chemicals, as the zapping noises and screams of Buzzbomber's pain in the background sounded like music to his ears.

"Finally…now nothing can upset my experiment." Crabmeat said. He didn't notice however how Coconuts snuck up on him, and then the little robot monkey shouted really loud, startling Crabmeat, who accidentally poured to much of one chemical in his concoction. BOOM! Crabmeat ended up black and scorched. "You filthy little mechanical fleabag, if I get my claws on you…" Crabmeat said as he started chasing Coconuts around the lab, the robotic monkey taking delight in it, before he crawled into an air vent out of Crabmeat's reach.

"You sick little…" Crabmeat growled as he couldn't reach the air vent. "At the same time, Slicer had come in and called to Crabmeat and Buzzbomber. "Crabmeat, Buzzbomber. Master Eggman requires our presence, he has another mission for us. And Crabmeat, clean your armor." Slicer said. Then Buzzbomber came by, looking dazed and said: "Hey Slice, guess how many electricity there is down a socket? You won't believe how much!" "Crabmeat, how many times did I say not to take advantage of Buzzbomber's naivety?" Slicer said. "Yay, I got naivety! What does 'naivety' actually mean?" Buzzbomber asked dumbly.

After that whole awkward thing, the generals report to Eggman. "Ah, you finally made it. I need the three on you on this one. You see, the blue hedgehog and his friends are on the trail of a Chaos Emerald, and this is our chance to get it." Eggman said to them. "We will recover the emerald for sure, master." Slicer assured him. "I know, but seeing Buzzbomber's and Crabmeat's track record, I decided to join you on this one. It would also be the perfect opportunity to see him in action personally." Eggman stated. "At least I'll get a bit of distraction from it." Crabmeat moaned, after all he had to endure earlier. He turned around to leave the room, only to slip on a banana peel. He saw a laughing Coconuts with a banana in his hand. "I hate monkies…"

The heroes had arrived at the Green Hill Zone. They stopped for a moment to see what has become of it. The 'green' part could almost be completely left out, as most of the plants around this place had died, and was now almost completely barren. Sonic had vague memories of him rushing down these hills of when he was younger. Sonic saw a single flower at his feet. "Well, aren't ya a survivor?" he said. He had a bottle of water with him and poured some of it over the flower. He looked around and saw broken down paths, ruined houses and dead plants. "Is something up Sonic?" Sally asked. "To think this used to be a beautiful place…but Eggman has turned it to filth." Sonic answered. "When he's gone, this place will once again be beautiful, I'm sure of it." Sally answered.

"Never mind that, where of all places should we find the Emerald?" Sonic wondered. "It could be everywhere, and knowing your uncle, he protected the emeralds better then the Deep Power Stone." Sally replied. "Oh Uncle Chuck, if only you were here to help me…wait!" Sonic said as he realized something and pulled out one of the Power Rings he had brought along for the journey. "I hope you can show me the way." Sonic said as he concentrated and the Power Ring started to glow. "Sonic, what are you doing?" Tails asked. "I'm wondering that myself." Sonic said. The ring's energy filled his body before he rushed off in the distance. "Wait for us!" Tails said as he and the other Freedom Fighters went after him.

Sonic stopped in front of a certain wall, which like all pieces of wall had the same checker pattern as the rest of the Green Hill Zone. "Behind this piece of wall lies the Emerald." Sonic said. "How?" Sally asked. "Maybe my uncle wanted us to find the Deep Power Stone first, since it was the easiest location to decode…" Sonic said as he pulled out a second Power Ring. The Power Ring glowed as it send out a spark to the wall, and in an outline of light, a much larger Power Ring appeared, one that was big enough to jump through. "Whoa…what is that?" Tails wondered. "I don't know, but it seems I need to step through it. That's the way to get to the Emerald." Sonic stated.

"It's a Chaos Emerald, it's bound to be protected. So…be careful okay?" Sally asked. "You always ask that of me, but you know that we can't in this line of work. But I can promise to come back in one piece." Sonic said as he jumped through. The ring vanished as he had stepped through and found himself spinning in a tunnel of lights and flashing colors…until seconds later he hit solid ground. He found himself in a weird world, where pieces of rock floated in a large void.

"Whoa…if I didn't know it was the big Ring's doing, I'd say I ate too much Chilidogs." Sonic commented. The in front of Sonic something appeared in a flash of light. It was a female Mobian-like seahorse. "Greetings visitor. I am Espik, the avatar manifestation of this place, the Special Zone." She introduced herself. "Er…nice place you got here?" Sonic asked awkwardly. "I know who you are, nephew of the scientist Charles. He too has long ago entered this domain and proved his worth over one of the Chaos Emeralds. I think you want to do that as well." Espik explained.

"Indeed, we need those gems to put an end to Eggman's twisted rule." Sonic explained. "I understand your sentiment, I know what has going on at the other Zones…but only those who are worthy deserve the Emerald, are you ready to prove yourself?" Espik asked. "I am!" Sonic said firmly. "Well then…" Espik said as she waved her hand and a labyrinth rose from the ground. "Make it to the center of this maze, where you'll find the Emerald, but beware of the traps that lie ahead." She said.

Sonic rushed into the maze, wasting no time. However, it was true about the traps as a few times, he needed to stop rudely because a piece of the floor collapsed in front of him and nearly let him fall to the endless void below. Sometimes the walls would change positions, blocking his path, and sometimes walls would close in on him. But despite all of the traps, Sonic has found his way to the center of the maze, and picked up the little blue emerald (note the Emeralds are about the same size as in Sonic X, meaning they're not that big).

"I got it…I can't believe this little thing is one of the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic said happily. The maze vanished around him as Espik reappeared in front of him: "Things are sometimes more than meets the eye. You should know that yourself." "Thanks for the Emerald, but…when do I get a chance to find the next one?" Sonic asked. "You need to find more Eternity Rings around the islands. But this one won't be available anymore once you return to the Green Hills. But be careful when using the Emeralds' power, cause even if you get them all, they're incomplete…" Espik explained. "Still won't prevent me from saving the world." Sonic stated. "Then go young hedgehog, and may you succeed in your mission." She said as she opened another ring for Sonic to jump through. Sonic jumped through, back to Green Hill Zone.

"I got it!" Sonic said. "Sonic! I'm glad you made it! How was it like on the other side?" Tails asked curiously. "Weird and floaty, and I had to do some test to get it, but now I have it." Sonic said as he showed the tiny but powerful gem. "And soon it'll be mine!" a dark voice sounded. The heroes soon found themselves being confronted by Eggman, his generals and a series of insectoid robots with a motorcycle wheel for legs. "Eggman…" Sonic growled. "It has been a while since I saw you, nephew of Charles…I must thank you for fetching that Emerald for me, saves me a lot of trouble." Eggman said. "If you think I'm going to let you have this emerald, you really have yolk on the brain." Sonic said.

"Such defiance, like your uncle. Who is currently working as a worker Badnik in my factories." Eggman said evilly. "My uncle was a better and smarter man then you ever could be!" Sonic shot at him. "It didn't prevent him from being turned into a Badnik by me." Eggman reminded him. "To give me and my friends the time to escape so we could set this up: the group that will take you down and save Mobius." Sonic explained. Eggman just laughed: "Very amusing, but none of your little club members could drive me out, I control the world. The only reason they're alive is because I allowed it, I need a challenge every now and then." "Then allow me to challenge you." Sonic said as he took a battle stance. "Okay then…you and me, one on one. My little friends will keep your little friends busy in the meantime. Attack!" Eggman said as the robotic minions attacked the Freedom Fighters.

Crabmeat headed for Sally, but Slicer blocked his path. "No…you had your chance and you wasted it on dirty tricks instead of your own strength…me on the other hand, while she isn't Sonic, I'd like to test my skill against the leader of the Freedom Fighters." Slicer said. "Fine, I don't care, then I'll take the rabbit girl." Crabmeat groaned. "Oh, I want the fox! I wanna show who the true master of the sky is!" Buzzbomber said excited. It was settled as the three generals picked their opponent respectively.

Slicer raised his blades, as Sally pulled out her bo staff, but now pushed a button so a spear point appeared on the tip. "You're the one who saved me from the crab…but I don't know why, you're supposed to be on Eggman's side." She said as she readied her spear. "I fight on the opposite side, but I always fight with honor, as it is the only true way to fight." Slicer answered. "Then let us fight with honor!" Sally said as she swiped her spear, Slicer dodging as he brought down his blade arms, but Sally blocked with the stick part of the spear, before pushing the blades off and swiped with the tip of the spear, which Slicer blocked with his own arms. "Great technique…good reflexes…you'll definitely give me a good fight." Slicer said amused. "You bet your shiny metal thorax I will!" Sally said as they resumed their clash.

Crabmeat swings his claws at Bunnie as he mocked her: "So, you're the runaway test subject. How does it feel to be a freak?" "The only freak ah am seeing here is right in front of me." She said as she dodged the swipes and attempted to punch Crabmeat. One of her punches hit Crabmeat and knocked him to the floor. Crabmeat scooped some dirt in his claws and tossed them at Bunnie's eyes, hoping to blind her. But when he swings his claws again, Bunnie caught them in her strong hands. "You should know that my cybernetic eyes can't be blinded by that dirty trick." She said as she rips his claws off. "Argh! You know how long it takes to repair those?" Crabmeat moaned. "That won't be the only thin' you'll be repairing." Bunnie said as she aimed her cannon arm at him and sent him flying with an energy blast.

Buzzbomber was stuck in an aerial fight with Tails. Buzzbomber opened his chest and shot missiles from it, but Tails did some great aerial maneuvers to dodge them all. Buzzbomber moved in close to swipe with his bug-like claws, but Tails moves out of the way to dodge. "Stand still…or fly still…you know what I mean!" Buzzbomber shouted. "Oh, ok!" Tails said as he floated in place. Buzzbomber swipes his claws again, but Tails blocks the blow with his namesakes, before spinning them around again before gravity would catch up and deliver a tail swipe to knock Buzzbomber back. "I didn't move from this spot did I?" Tails stated. "I'll rip those freaky tails of your butt!" Buzzbomber said as he swooped at Tails. But Tails dodged narrowly as he swiped at Buzzbomber, but it didn't have any effect. "Hah, missed me!" Buzzbomber mocked. "Oh really? Say, is this thing important?" Tails said as he held out a screw. Buzzbomber's wings then fell of his body. "I hate yoooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuu uuuuu…" Buzzbomber said as he spiraled towards the ground.

Antoine swiped his sword to cut the Motobugs to pieces. Several start firing shots from their arms at him, but he rolls aside to dodge. When they were reloading, he moved in and sliced them to bits, before seeing the battle between Sonic and Eggman, wanting to move towards them to help Sonic. But then Coconuts appeared, carrying two cymbals. He swipes with them, Antoine barely dodged as he saw how the cymbals sliced through a totem pole like a knife through butter. Antoine swipes with his sword as he tried to hit the robotic monkey, but Coconuts uses his cymbals as shields. "You annoying little singe…" he growled at Coconuts, who just hooted.

Rotor moves in and tosses several bombs, blowing them into next month. A newwave of robots appeared and started shooting at Rotor, who jumped behind a rock to take cover. Muttski then appears in front of the robots, carrying a tray with a teapot: "Tea?" he asked. The robots looked at him in confusion. Muttski then removed the lid from the teapot and poured the tea on them, making them short-circuit. He then smashes the teapot on the head of one Motobug, while using the tray to smash another one's face in.

Rotor had used Muttski's weird antics to crawl from his hiding spot and grab a bazooka, and fired a missile that blew up several of the Motobugs. He then tossed it aside and shifted to several smaller bombs for convenience. While the robots were blasted into next month's by his cybernetics, Muttski has been using his unorthodox fighting style to lay waste to some others. "Muttski Dyamite!" Muttski said as he delivered one big powerful punch to one robot, sending it flying into several others, knocking them over like bowling pins. Both Muttski and Rotor gave each other the Thumbs up

Eggman's Egg Mobile had spawned two arms, which reached out and tried to squash Sonic, who swiftly dodged before spin-dashing into the bottom of the Egg-Mobile, shaking it. Eggman recovered quickly as one of the hands transformed into a ball, which he swings around on a chain. Sonic jumps over a swipe from the chain. Then the moves aside as the ball came down like a wrecking ball and became stuck into the ground. He then ran along the chain and spin jumped into Eggman again, sending him flying back and breaking the chain. Then the other hand on the Egg Mobile turned into a flamethrower and Sonic had to run really fast to dodge a wave of fire. It appeared he couldn't get close due to the range of the flamethrower.

But Sonic got an idea as he started to run a circle around Eggman, literally. And he kept doing that while avoiding the stream of fire he shot from the flamethrower, until he went so fast, a gust of wind erupted. The wind soon turned into a tornado that swallows the Egg Mobile and makes Eggman spin out of control. Then Sonic jumps into the tornado and spin-dashes into the Egg Mobile a final time, destroying the arms and returning it to his basic form. "You little…no matter. What you faced was one of my weaker machines, I promise you the rest of my machines are much stronger and they'll crush you. Until then…retreat!" Eggman ordered his troops.

Slicer and Sally had their fight going on, only to end in a stalemate when the tip of the spear was at Slicer's throats, and the tip of Slicer's right arm aimed at Sally's. "Very good, Sally Acorn. You have honored me with a good clean fight. Don't slack off as I expect to see this strength again next time." Slicer said as he joined Eggman in retreat. The armless Crabmeat and wingless Buzzbomber followed them, the few remaining Motobugs following them.

"We did it, we got an Emerald and sent the Eggman running." Tails said happily. "Don't celebrate too soon. He admitted to have used one of his weaker machines…he's toying with us, he grants us a minor victory so in the end he can strike back in greater force." Sonic realized. "We know…so we'll be prepared for next time." Sally assured him. Sonic stared at the blue emerald, the same one that has granted him his powers long ago, and caused the madness of Namgge. "We will be…" Sonic said.

END OF CHAPTER 5


	6. Say Uncle

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z

CHAPTER SIX: SAY UNCLE

"…Yes. Love you too. Bye sweethearts." Rosie said as she finished her conversation on the phone and hung up. "Who were you talking too, aunt Rosie?" Sonic asked as he just got in. "Your cousins." Rosie explained. "Oh. How are they doing at the academy?" Sonic asked. "They're doing just fine. I'm sure one day they'll be great Freedom Fighters like you. I wish it didn't have to come to that, but you can't blame the two for wanting to fight Eggman and find their father." Rosie said. "It's not fair I got to spend so much time with Uncle Chuck and they so little." Sonic said sadly.

"Charles doesn't even know about them. And he might never will if we don't take down Eggman." Rosie added. "We will take him down, even if it's the last thing we do. It's only a matter of time. " Sonic assured her. "I wish I could go out there myself for once, just to see if he isn't among them. But I'm not as young as I used to be." Rosie said sadly. "I'll promise I'll find him for you." Sonic assured her. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, it's a big world out there, there's no telling where Eggman might have hidden him." Rosie said. "Would that prevent you from looking for him?" Sonic asked. "No…but it's going to be hard." "It's never easy, aunt Rosie."

It was then that Sonic's communicator went off. "Yes?" he asked. "Nicole here, I decoded the next location to a Chaos Emerald." Nicole still had the monotone, but Sonic could sense slightly more emotion behind it. It seems the talk sessions with Julayla were making her feel better. "I'm coming." He said. "Sorry auntie, duty calls." "I understand, sonny. Now go." She said. Sonic left to join up with his friends.

They were gathered around Sally carrying Nicole's handheld. "Okay, Nicky-girl. What's the clue?" Bunnie asked. "The clue is: 'Which fall is constant?'" Nicole answered. "Which fall…I dunno, one down a bottomless pit?" Sonic asked confused. "Tails, you're good at this…" Rotor said. "I know, lemme think." Tails said as he took a glass of water and wanted to take a sip, but then he stared at the glass and realized it: "A waterfall! A waterfall is constant cause the water is constantly falling. So the next Eternity Ring and thereby Chaos Emerald is in the Aqua Falls Zone." Tails realized.

"Just one problem: Eggman has built a Chemical Plant where the Aqua Falls Zone used to be. So the ring has to lie under it." Sally noted. "Even if we have to tear down the entire factory bit by bit, we will get that Emerald. I'm just surprised Egghead hasn't found it during the construction of the plant." Sonic replied. "Eggman is known for overlooking things that are important. So his flaws become our luck." Tails said. "Okay, let's pack our stuff and prepare for this mission.

Down in Eggman's base, a certain Crab-based robot was very pissed. "Stupid dung-throwing, banana-loving mechanical fleabag!" an angry Crabmeat said as he chased Coconuts around again, the latter having played a prank on him again. Crabmeat was now entirely pink…Crabmeat wanted to get a new paintjob, but Coconuts messed with the colors. But Coconuts got away like always. "One of these days I'll crack that Coconuts." Crabmeat said angrily. Then Buzzbomber came in, who did his best to hold his laughter. "One giggle and I'll pull out your wings and shove them up your thorax!" Crabmeat warned him.

"That's not necessary, Big boss already did that." Buzzbomber said. "What did you this time?" Crabmeat asked. "I spilled hot coffee on his lap." Buzzbomber said. Then Slicer came in. Slicer was not the one to laugh at someone's misery, but he had an awkward look on his face: "Er…your new paintjob is interesting." Slicer said. "Hey, Slicer! I needed to talk to you." Crabmeat said, faking sympathy. "What do you want from me?" Slicer asked suspiciously. "Normally you would go check out the progress down the Chemical Plant today. I wanted to ask if I can't do it for you. You see, my brother Grabber is head of the plant and I wanted to catch up with him a bit…" Crabmeat said in a very fake friendly tone.

"I don't know…" Slicer said. "Oh come on, didn't you want to spend more time on your new fighting techniques? I'm offering you a day off. Besides you want to be in prime shape to face Sonic or Sally next time?" Crabmeat stated. "Well…I guess it can't hurt. Either way the progress of the plant will be recorded and if it's to see your brother…" Slicer answered. "Good, now go and relax, meditate, train, whatever…I'll do the hard work for you." Crabmeat said as he let Slicer out. Then he heard some clicking noises from Buzzbomber, who had a camera. "You just didn't take a picture of me, did you?" Crabmeat asked angrily. "Maybe…" Buzzbomber said as he hid the camera behind his back and ran off. "Get back here so I can strangle you!" Crabmeat's voice sounded through the complex.

The heroes had arrived at the Chemical plant Zone. The waterfalls were blocked off by dams and a large factory-like complex stood at the center. "Another beautiful place Egghead has destroyed…" Sonic growled. "When we're here for the emerald, we might as well tear this place down as well." Tails suggested. "Okay then, first a quick check. Communicators, check! Emergency provisions, Check! Good looking and ready to kick butt blue hedgehog, check!" Sonic said. Sally rolled her eyes as she said: "Let's just get this mission started already."

In the Chemical Plant, a robot with a humanoid upper body and a spider-like lower body was looking through some files. The robotic spider was startled as someone tapped his shoulder: "Hey brother!" He dropped the files as he turned around and saw Crabmeat. "Crabmeat, brother…what brings you here? If it's money, I'm sorry I don't have any myself at the moment." The spider-bot said. "No Grabber, I'm here for our 'secret project'." Crabmeat answered. "Oh yeah, that! Follow me." Grabber said.

They came across a room where several Badnik workers were working on a really large missile. "The Mega-Mack Missile. Guaranteed to not only destroy an entire area, but leave it uninhabitable due to the chemical compounds inside." Grabber introduced. "Great, with this we'll destroy the Metropolis Zone. Once the big egg, the mantis, the annoying buzzer and especially the pestering monkey are out of my way, I'll be king of the world. (sees Grabber stare at him) I mean, we will be king of the world." Crabmeat boasted.

Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have been looking around in the Chemical Plant. "This place is crawling with Badniks…no regular robot soldier in sight. So we need to be careful. Who knows who are inside those suits." Sonic stated. "Not only that, we need to be careful if we are to dismantle this plant, cause we don't want any of the innocents people trapped in the suits to be caught in between." Sally added. "Our best option is to blow up the dams, ridding this place of its power supply. Then we need to force the Badniks in evacuation before we take down the building itself." Tails suggested. "But we need to have excellent knowledge of the factory's lay-out before we can execute the plan." Sally stated.

"I can be of help for that." A voice from behind them said. They could see a cloaked figure standing there. "Who are you?" Sonic asked. "Not here, I need to talk to you somewhere private…" he said to our heroes. "How do we know you're not one of Eggman's spies?" Antoine asked. "You don't…but if you want some help finding the Eternity Ring…" he answered. "Eternity Ring? You know where it is?" Sonic asked. "I do. And if you want access to it, you need to follow me." He said. "You think we can trust him?" Bunnie asked. "We don't have a choice, he's the only lead to the Emerald we got." Sally said. "Now, if you'd be so kind to follow me…" the stranger said as he led the Freedom Fighters away.

He led them to a small cave a distance from the chemical plant. It was hidden behind a hologram of a big rock, to avoid any Badniks from finding it. Inside they found the Eternity Ring, alongside some fancy equipment that looked crudely made. "He was right, it is the Eternity Ring." Sonic noted. "I told you so…after all, why would I lie to my own family?" the stranger said as he removed his hood. He was clad in a Badnik suit, but the Robian shape he took was very familiar. "Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked surprised.

"Yeah sonny, it's me." Charles replied. "But…you're not a mindless drone." Sonic said surprised. "I was at first, but Julian didn't have as much control over me as he thought. My body was controlled used as a worker Drone, but I shielded my mind from his every attempt to hack my brain for info. When he couldn't, he sent me here to work until he found a way to extract my knowledge. However during a patrol mission I accidentally stumbled up on the Eternity Ring. I had suspicions of its location, but when I actually found it…its energies allowed my mind to be restored and take control of my body again." Charles explained.

"Whatever the case…" Sonic said as he tightly hugged his uncle: "It's so great to see you again." He said as he cried tears of joy. "Me too sonny…I can't believe how much you've grown. I followed you and your friends' progress. I'm impressed with what you've done." Charles answered. He then notices the others. "You're all different from what I remember, but it has been ten years after all. Little Miles even has become smarter than me." Charles said.

"Shucks, I wouldn't take it that far." Tails said embarrassed. "We're all glad to see you…you've been kind of like a dad to me after all. So…" Sally said as she hugged Charles. "I always saw you like a daughter as well Sally. That's what I get for spending much time with your nanny. So…how's Rosie?" Charles replied. "She's fine. She supports us from the HQ." Sally answered. "Anything else I need to know?" Charles asked. "Yes, you're a father." Sonic said.

Uncle Chuck grabbed his metallic chest in surprise. "Say what?" "Yep…not long after Rosie brought us all to safety ten years ago, she found out she was pregnant, with your son and daughter. You have kids." Sonic said. "Oh my gosh…I never knew. You can show me what they look like?" Charles asked surprised. "Sure, I have a picture." Sonic said as he handed the picture. It showed two hedgehog kids, both brown, one was a boy wearing a red vest, red and white sneakers and some bangs, while the girl wore a red dress and purple gloves. "They are beautiful. What are their names?" Charles asked. "Manic and Sonia. And they're real chips of the old block." Sonic assured them.

"Where are they now?" Uncle Chuck asked. "At the Freedom Fighter academy. They hope to be able to go out one day, kick some Eggrobot's tin cans and find you. But they might not need to, cause you can come back to us now we found you." Sonic said happily. "Sorry, I can't. The Eternity Ring is the only thing that keeps my mind from reverting to Badnik programming. If I am separated from it for too long, I'll become a robot again." Uncle Chuck explained. "And the Eternity Rings disappear when I collect the emerald so…" Sonic realized.

"Maybe a Power Ring can help." Sally suggested. "A Power Ring can keep my mind alive for a while, but eventually the energy will wear off. Besides, you need the rings for other ends." Uncle Chuck explained. "Maybe we don't need to. If I can modify the Badnik suit so a Power Ring can integrate with the systems, then I can permanently restore your free will." Tails suggested. "That's brilliant." Sonic said. "But you got to know, the Badnik suits are controlled by one big central AI completely loyal to Eggman. It forces the suits to adapt so once you install it into me, it won't work on the other suits." Uncle Chuck warned.

"But now you told us about it, we can make a plan for the future to disable the AI and the suits. We just need to bide our time." Sally stated. "But you'll travel in the middle of Metropolis to get it, the lair of the beast itself." Uncle Chuck explained. "We know that one day we will be able to do so. When the moment is right." Sonic said. "Oh, one more thing: the data you handed us…on it was some program, and our friend Nicole was part of the cyborg program, her mind linked to it and merged with the program." Tails explained.

"Program…ah yes, I tried to create a sentient program to manage my systems for me. But the problem was I never could give it proper sentience. It was a bust." Uncle Chuck explained. "If it lacked awareness…then it had no mind of its own, just programming. This means that the Nicole in the digital realm is the real one…her mind at least." Sally concluded. "We're hearing so much good news today." Sonic said. "But there is also some bad news: there is a Mega-Mack Missile in construction, which is a chemical weapon. We must stop it, because I have know for a fact that one of Eggman's generals plan on using it." Uncle Chuck warned.

"Oh really? How do you know?" Sonic asked. "Uncle Chuck showed some security footage, which showed the conversation Crabmeat and Grabber had earlier. "He's going to bomb Metropolis? I'd normally be glad to see Eggman die, but there are many innocent civilians there, trapped in Badnik-suits." Sonic said panicky. "So like it or not, we have to save Eggman to save everyone." Sally moaned. "Okay, if we blow up the dam, we can probably distract them long enough for us to disable the missile." Tails realized. "Okay then, we proceed as planned. Tails, you continue on the power ring upgrade, the rest of us will carry out the plan." Sally ordered. "Aye-aye!" Tails said, saluting jokingly.

"No, I want Holoska! I want the country with the best ice cream." Grabber argued. "Fine, you'll get Holoska. Like I care for sweets. Now, who gets Downunda?" Crabmeat and Grabber said as they discussed plans for dividing Eggman's territories once they launch the missile. Then they heard a large boom. "What the heck?" they both asked when they heard it. "Emergency alert, emergency alert, dam has been busted, hydro-energy supply has been cut off, leak of lethal gas confirmed. Prepare for evacuation." A voice over the intercom said. "Oh crab!" Crabmeat groaned. "We're not going to stop now we're so close are we?" Grabber asked. "Of course not, but now we have to engage the launching manually." Crabmeat said. "Then let's do so already." Grabber said as he and Crabmeat left.

The two robot brother arrived at the hangar bay, but found the Freedom Fighters there, Rotor tinkering with the missile while the rest stood there overlooking them. "What? You again?" Crabmeat growled. "Brother, who are those meatbags?" Grabber asked. "We're the Freedom Fighters, and we're stopping your wicked scheme." Sonic assured them. "Why would you want to stop me, we want to get rid of Eggman!" Crabmeat growled. "Yeah, but we don't want to risk innocent lives. So we'll stop you." Sally added as she grabbed her bo staff and put it in spear mode.

"Security Badniks! Help us." Grabber spoke into his communicator. But no response came. "Great, communications are down." Grabber groaned. "Thank you, uncle Chuck." Sonic thought as he and Sally prepared to fight (Muttski, Antoine and Bunnie had to help Rotor in this delicate procedure). "Who will I take on?" Grabber asked. "I want to finish what I started with the squirrel girl, you take the blueberry." Crabmeat answered.

Bunnie held up a piece of the rocket while Rotor tinkered with some stuff. "Muttski keep these wires connected at all times. Ant, give me the screwdriver…" Rotor instructed. "Are you going to disable ze rocket?" Antoine asked. "No, it means the chemicals inside would still be usable. These chemicals are not easy to make, and if we can believe Uncle Chuck, this plant is the only place they can be made. So we take the whole thing down so Eggman won't attack us with chemical warfare anytime soon." Rotor explained. "So we have to make a run for it soon?" Bunnie asked. "Yep." Rotor stated. "Muttski was afraid you'd say that." Muttski moaned.

Crabmeat lashed with his claws at Sally, but she expertly blocked all of his swipes. "This time no dirty lies or false attempts to get on my good side will save you." Sally said as she lashed with her spear, but Crabmeat blocked with his claws. "Oh, but I don't need to, not when I got some sweet upgrades." Crabmeat said as he opened his left claw and a surge of electricity came out. Sally planted her spear into the ground and directed the electric current into the ground as a conduit. "You think that with robots being our foes, we wouldn't have any defense against electricity?" Sally said.

"Oh well, I can still cut you limb from limb. I already got your tail, now the rest follows." Crabmeat said as he launched his claw on a chain as a grappling hook, only Sally dodged really agilely, before she jumped up, planted her staff on Crabmeat's head, dazing him, before kicking him in the lower abdomen with her steel-tipped boots. "Oh…crab!" Crabmeat said as two nuts and a bolt dropped from him after Sally had kicked him there. Sally then swiped with her staff as she sent Crabmeat flying.

Grabber swiped with his spider-like forelegs of his centaurish spider form. Sonic quickly dodged without trouble. "You know if you're really Crabmeat's brother, you are just as much of a loser as he is. How can a spider be related to a crab anyway?" Sonic mocked. "Well, our prototype looked the same, but after augmentations…stop distracting me!" Grabber said as he brought down his forelegs and got stuck in the ground. "Let me help you out." Sonic said as he spin-dashed into his gut. It send Grabber staggering back. "I got you loose didn't I?" Sonic mocked.

Grabber got angry as he spit a sticky substance from his mouth, but missed Sonic. Sonic ran around really fast, avoiding more webs, but eventually he got his feet stuck. "Now I have you." Grabber said. "Not quite, spider-butt!" Sonic said as he vibrated his legs, shedding of the goop and running around again. He then jumped up and kicked Grabber's head. "Liked that, spider-butt?" "Why you call me that?" Grabber asked. "Because you have a spider's butt…" Sonic said as he moved behind Grabber. "…which I'm kicking right now." He said as he literally kicked him in the butt and sent him flying.

"Okay, I'm done, let's beat it!" Rotor said as he was finished and he and the other Freedom Fighters ran. Sally and Sonic followed their example. "Where are you going, I'm not done with you yet!" Crabmeat said angrily. "Er…big brother?" Grabber said as he pointed at the missile, which was now fuming and leaking. "It's gonna blow!" Crabmeat said as he headed towards the exit, but the Freedom Fighters had blocked it. "Oh Crab."

"Good thing I got my ticket out of here." Grabber said as he pushed a button on the wall and an escape pod appeared. "Me first." Crabmeat said as he pushed Grabber out of the way, but Grabber pushed him back. "It's a one-bot pod and I'm going to take it!" Grabber said. "No, I'm going to take it." Crabmeat growled. "It's my factory." "I came up with the plans." They began to struggle for a while, but eventually Crabmeat pushed Grabber to the ground and entered the pod.

"Sorry brother, but in the end there can only be one ruler." Crabmeat said as the pod vanished. "You son of a…" Grabber said as the missile exploded and the entire factory was blown up in a burst of pink goop. The factory was down, but the Badniks were safe, and neither Eggman or Grabber could make a move with chemical warfare anytime soon.

"Almost there…there ya go!" Tails said as he put a Power Ring in the back of the Badnik suit around Uncle Chuck. "If I only could remove the suit without killing you." Tails added. "It's nothing Miles, it's better this way. Now you have the right info, you'll find a way to release all victims at once." Uncle Chuck assured. It's then that the remaining Freedom Fighters came in. "Mission accomplished uncle! You should have seen the look on the two Egg-bot's faces." Sonic said. "That's one more Eggman factory we'll never need to worry about again." Sally added. "I finished the upgrades as well. Uncle Chuck should be fine without the Eternity Ring. You can go and collect the Emerald." Tails added. "Great! Mind if I do Uncle Chuck?" Sonic asked. "Go ahead Sonny!" Uncle Chuck said.

Sonic grabbed a Power Ring, activated the Eternity Ring, stepped through, and once again found himself in a tunnel of light before landing in the Special Zone. "Welcome back young hedgehog. Care for another round?" Espik asked. "Be sure I am. What do I need to do?" Sonic replied. Sonic saw a very long half-pipe appear, filled with bombs and rings. "Try to make it to the end of this course, but at the same time try to collect as many dummy rings as possible. If you have enough, you'll get the emerald. But beware the bombs." She warned. "No sweat!" Sonic said as he raced through the half-pipe.

"So…how did you get the Emerald long ago?" Sally asked Uncle Chuck as they waited for Sonic. "Oh, I found one of the Eternity Rings during a journey in the hill top zone. Espik challenged me to a game of wits for the Emeralds. She challenged me with riddles, and I answered each one." Uncle Chuck explained. "Sounds awesome. How is the special zone like?" Tails asked. "Too amazing to put in words."

Then Sonic popped out of the Eternity Ring as it vanished. "Hey guys, I got the second one." Sonic said as he held up the second (green) Chaos Emerald. "Well done, Sonic." Sally complimented. "Now things are over and done with, why don't you come back with us, Uncle? I'm sure aunt Rosie would love to see you again, and you get to see your kids." Sonic suggested.

"Though as much as I want to…I can't." Uncle Chuck said. "What? Why?" Sonic asked. "Though despite the mods Tails made, the Badnik suit itself is still active. Though I suppressed the programming with the ring, Eggman can still track me down through it. The only reason he hasn't come after me now is because I stayed close to the Chemical Plant as he intended. I'll bring you all in danger if I come. Besides, I'm more useful undercover amongst the Badniks." Uncle Chuck explained.

"I…I understand." Sonic said sadly. "But I want you to give your aunt this." Uncle Chuck said as he handed Sonic a small notebook. "I've written down my memories and emotions in it, to keep me sane. It shows my hopes for the future and the love I always had for you, for her, for my family. She might want to know how I'm doing." Uncle Chuck explained. "I'll…I'll miss you. It's not fair!" Sonic said, crying. "I know, but I know that very soon, I'll be able to rejoin you all." Uncle Chuck said. "Before we go, I meant to ask this: you know where mom and dad are?" Sonic asked. "I'm sorry, I don't know." Uncle Chuck answered.

"It's okay. I found you, I found them, and I'll find the way to save you all, I promise!" Sonic said. "I know that." Uncle Chuck said. He then hugged his nephew, the two not bothering to hide their emotions. Then Tails came closer. "Tails…your memories of me were limited as you were so young when Eggman attacked, but it's nice to see you have become such a strong and smart person for you age." Uncle Chuck said. "I may not have known you for long, but I'm glad to call you my uncle!" Tails said as he hugged him as well. Finally, Sally turned to him: "You have done so much for me when I was little. You filled the void my father had left due to his constant absence. You made me what I am today." Sally said as she hugged Uncle Chuck as well.

The rest of the Freedom Fighters just saluted Uncle Chuck. They weren't as close as the rest, but they knew him for long and respected him. "Now bring that Chaos Emerald to safety and show the world that you are Freedom Fighters, and one day you'll reclaim the freedom of the people. Don't look back, look forward." Uncle Chuck said as he left the cave to rejoin the Badniks. Sonic stared at the Emerald in his hand: "I will!".

A Eggman's base, Eggman himself was annoyed with Crabmeat. "You went to the Chemical Plant in Slicer's place, ruined the place and set back years of research on chemical warfare…justify yourself!" Eggman growled. "I wanted to see my brother, is something wrong with that?" Crabmeat asked. "I know you, you don't care for anyone, not even your so-called brother. But fortunately for you, I still need you, so you'll live. But a slight punishment is in order." Eggman said as he pulled out a remote and aimed it at him. He pushed the button.

"Argh!" Crabmeat moaned as he was electrocuted. "This is fun…but someone is going to enjoy it more than me." Eggman said as he handed Coconuts the remote, who smiled mischievously. "Please no, I'm sorry I was mad at you earlier. In fact I liked the pink…pink is a very manly color…" Crabmeat begged, only for Coconuts to electrocute him over and over again.

In the ruins of the Chemical plant, from the pink goop that was left, a one armed, lower torso-less Grabber crawled out of the rubble. "Just wait until I put myself back together 'brother'…I'll make sure we'll have a family reunion you won't forget."

END OF CHAPTER 6


	7. The Vixen

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE VIXEN

The last mission to recover the Chaos Emeralds has been a hard one, physically and emotionally. Though they managed to disable Eggman's Chemical Plant, once again give one of his generals the slip, and get the Chaos Emerald, to leave Uncle Chuck behind a second time was what made the victory kind of bittersweet. Though Sonic knew they were important, he could've cared less about the blue and green gems they had recovered over the past few days as his mind were on his uncle and his parents. He knew were the former was, but still doesn't know where the latter are. The only thing keeping him distracted is the journal his uncle has given him, in which he and Rosie read every night.

But now there were two important facts Sally wanted to share with the rest of the crew: "Okay guys, we have two important missions today. The first is the recovery of the next Chaos Emerald. Nicole has decoded the next clue just recently." Sally explained. "And Tails has, as usual deciphered the clue, and the next Eternity Ring is most likely to be in the Under Ground Zone on Eastern Barred Island. " Nicole added. Ever since they passed her the news Uncle Chuck gave them about her, Nicole finally showed her emotions again.

"What's the other news?" Rotor asked. "There is a witness who can tell us more about one of Eggman's upcoming projects. He used to be part of a crime ring, a lackey to one of the Mob bosses who avoided being turned into Badniks in exchange for their services." Sally answered. "We have to protect a crook?" Bunnie asked. "Sometimes we need to use the lesser evil to take down the bigger ones. If even the slightest rumors about Eggman's super-weapon is true, we have to take the risk. Anything he cooks up can't be good." Sonic stated.

"Fine then, me, Bunnie and Sonic will go after the Chaos Emerald. The rest of you need to protect our 'good friend'. Tails, you're in charge." Sally ordered. "What? Lil' Tails is going to lead us?" Antoine asked. "Anything wrong with that?" Tails asked. "Itz just…you are a kid." Antoine said. "He might be, but Tails' intelligence is what we need, as probably Eggman or the mobsters are planning to assassinate our 'friend' to prevent him from rattling." Sally explained. "I have no problem with it." Rotor said. "Neither does Muttski, Tails is smartest kid in the world." Muttski added happily.

"Okay then…but who eez this guy we need to protect?" Antoine asked. He was handed a picture of the mobster. "I can't believe zis, zat little man? He does not look like he can kill a fly." Antoine said as he looked at the picture of the meek and pathetic looking mobian cat of the picture. "His name is Archibald Del Gato, aka the 'Squish' because of his supposed 'softness'. Though a mobster, he wasn't little more than an errand boy who just overheard something he wasn't supposed to. He works for this guy." Sally said as she handed another picture, of a Mobian hippo mob boss who looked fat even for hippo standards.

"Armando Toof, aka 'the Candyman', one of the 'Big Five' who run the crime underworld for Eggman. He's known for having a sweet tooth, hence his nickname." Sally explained. "What a creep. He looks like Jabba the Hut from Star Wars if he was hippo." Sonic commented. "But he's not our worry now. Everyone just do as they're told, keep him safe and watch out for assassins. You may never know in what way they'll try to take him down." Sally said. "I won't disappoint you, aunt Sally!" Tails said as he saluted. "We know you won't, you got a good head on your shoulders. Sal, Buns and I will be fine, and so will you." Sonic assured him. "Let's not waste any more time. You guys need to pick up Archibald at the Casino Night Zone, you'll be joined by a few local Freedom Fighters to cover you." Sally said as she dismissed the meeting.

Later on, Tails and his group have moved out to meet up with another group of Freedom Fighters to safely transport him away. They were at the Casino Night, disguised with long trench coats and sunglasses. They saw the target, Archibald, in company of two Mobians. "Hi Pollo, Drik." Tails greeted the Mobian bear and rhino. "Greetings. We have Archibald here." Pollo the bear said as Archibald nervously said: "Hi…" "We're ready to move him out, but we already have moved out his…" Drik the rhino said…But Muttski, being a dog, used his sensitive hearing to pick up something. "Get down!" he said as he tackled Archibald to the ground, and a bullet missed him.

The heroes noticed the assassin, on the higher balcony, who tried to run. Tails grabbed a wrench from his belt, tossed it with great accuracy and knocked him out. "I don't think taking him out will assure his safety." Drik pointed out as several goons in costumes with guns arrived. "Move!" Tails said as they ran off, dodging gunfire. "I have been working on a project, hope this works!" Rotor said as he tosses a bomb that produced green smoke, and the bullets flying through the green smoke dissolved. "My metal-eating bomb works. A shame they're so hard to make." Rotor commented.

"No time, bring him to the car." Tails said as he and the other approached a car, driven by another Freedom Fighter, he and the others stepping in. Several other Freedom Fighters arrived at the club to battle the mobsters. "Go…we'll hold them off." Pollo said. "Aye-aye!" The dingo driver said as he took the heroes away. Archibald cowered and hugged Antoine for comfort. "Get off moi!" Antoine said as he pushed Archibald off. "I'm sorry, this is just so terrifying." Archibald muttered. "How did you get in the mob?" Tails wondered. "My sister is married to one of the Candyman's top men." Archibald explained.

But then the car was shook by something, making it briefly turn out of control. "Now what?" Tails moaned. They looked outside to see Buzzbomber (who had fired at the car earlier), joined by several robot drones that looked like him, only having a red color scheme. "Yes, I will finally destroy some Freedom Fighters today, as well as the rat who blabs about my master. Buzzers, open fire!" he said in his buzzing voice as the Buzzers fired their stingers like missiles.

"Harry, dodge!" Tails asked the dingo-like driver. "No worries, mate! Best driver in the world!" Harry said as he used his driving skills to dodge them all. "Can you stop rocking, I'm getting carsick!" Archibald moaned. "It's that or getting blown to kingdom come!" Muttski reminded him. "Stop arguing, I need to concentrate." Harry said as he kept driving. "Do I have to anything myself?" Buzzbomber groaned as he fired his own stinger. He missed the car, but the impact forced the driver to change course, right into a forest. "I can't continue in this thick fern, we need to go on, on foot." Harry said. "Tails, you take Archibald away, the rest of us will hold off Buzz-dumber." Rotor said. "Right…Harry, you can fight?" Tails said. "Freedom Fighter, remember?" Harry said as he pulled out a gun.

"Yes, we got them now. Oh master Eggman will be so pleased, he'll give me promotion, and I'll get my own office…and a very big cake! I don't have to eat, but a cake has something special…" Buzzbomber said cheerfully, until he was hit by a rock between his eyes. "Muttski thinks Buzzbomber talks to much!" Muttski shouted from the ground, tossing another rock up and down in his hand. He, Rotor, Antoine and Harry stood in front of them while Tails and Archibald slipped away. "You dare mock me? I'm one of Eggman's top Generals!" Buzzbomber groaned. "Too bad he equipped you with half a brain circuit." Rotor added. "That's it! Buzzers, attack!" Buzzbomber ordered, letting his minions loose on the Freedom Fighters, forgetting about Archibald.

"Just stay close, and nothing will happen to you." Tails said as he dragged Archibald along. "Oh my, all this stress isn't really good for my health…" Archibald moaned. "Quit complaining, if we don't get away fast, you won't need to worry about your health anymore." Tails growled. Then suddenly Tails stopped. "Er…why did you stop?" Archibald asked. "Sh…" Tails said as he listened. He looked ahead of him to see if nothing was coming from there. But unknown to him, behind Tails, from one of the trees, a figure lowered itself, pulling out a dagger…

Tails grabbed a screwdriver form his belt, turned around and tosses it, piercing the bark of the tree, startling the figure, who lost her balance and dropped out. Tails got a good look at the attacker: it was a female fox with red fur, blue eyes and brown hair. She was younger then Sally and Sonic, but older than him. She wore a t-shirt, pants and boots, all in a black and yellow color scheme as well as black fingerless gloves. Overall she could be considered beautiful, but Tails had no time to worry about it.

"Eggman, the Candyman, whoever you work for, I won't let you do it!" Tails said as he took a battle stance. "I'm not working for anyone. I'm here for my own reasons. Now, I don't have anything against you Freedom Fighters, but you're in my way. Now move aside and let me at him and I won't hurt you." the vixen said. "I can't let you hurt him, whoever he is. Besides he has valuable info to take Eggman down. Don't you want to see him taken down?" Tails asked. "I do…but you did so well up until this point, it won't hurt if I just skin one cat." She said as she pulled two daggers out and held them in a reverse grip.

"Okay missy, you leave me no choice…" Tails said as he took a battle pose. "The name's Fiona Fox! And I don't fight kids." She said. "I'm Miles Prower, aka Tails. I normally don't fight pretty girls, but sometimes a fox gotta do what a fox gotta do!" Tails replied. "Flattery won't help you, if you're in my way, you need to move out of it." She said as she charged at Tails. She swiped with her daggers, but Tails blocked using his namesakes. Tails swiped back, Fiona dodged as Tails swiped a tree, leaving a deep cut mark. "Whoa, what are those things made off?" Fiona wondered.

Fiona lashed with her daggers again, but Tails wraps his tails around her wrists, and forced her to drop her weapons. Fiona kicks Tails off him and tried to pick up the daggers again, but Tails rammed her with his elbow and pinned her against a tree. Fiona headbutted Tails to get loose before she attempted to kick him, but Tails ducked under the kick and tried a roundhouse, but she jumped up, over Tails and attempted to launch a punch. Tails blocked with his tail, before he attempted to punch her, but she caught his fist. Tails wrapped his tails around the wrist of her other hand and soon they tried to overpower one another.

They fell to the ground, rolled over the ground a few times, before Tails had her pinned down. The two stared in each other's eyes with battle fire, but as they looked deeper, they seemed to float away in a trance. "Wow, he/she has beautiful eyes…" both of them thought. Then they came back to their senses: "Get off me!" they said as they broke apart, stood up and took another pose. "You're not bad of a fighter…for a kid." Fiona complimented. "I am a Freedom fighter, I got trained in this stuff. But before we beat the stuffing out of each other some more, why do you want to hurt Archibald?" Tails asked.

"That feline murdered my parents!" Fiona growled. "Archibald? A murderer? I know he's a mobster but he wouldn't be able to kill a bug! He's pathetic…no offense, Archie." Tails replied. "Actually…I did." Archibald replied. "What? You…but…" Tails asked confused. "I know it's hard to believe, but I did. And to this day I've regretted it. I recognize her, and I know she has every right to be angry at me." Archibald said meekly. "So if you don't mind, I like to plant a dagger in his stomach…" Fiona said.

"Even if he did, killing him won't solve anything. It's wrong." Tails said. "I don't care, it's not about right or wrong, it's about revenge." Fiona said, looking both angry and sad. "If vengeance rules your life, it will become you. I know what it's like to lose a loved one, my adoptive parents have been turned to Badniks by Eggman…but I fight Eggman because it's the right thing to do, not out of vengeance." Tails said. "I appreciate the concern, but this is what I've chosen, so move aside." She said as she picked up her daggers and pointed them at Tails.

"Listen, let her kill me. The death of her parents has haunted me to this day, and the mob and Eggman want me dead, I rather die by justification then by machines of war or mobster's gunfire." Archibald suggested. "What do you know, he grew a pair." Fiona commented. "But Archi…" Tails wanted to say, but he was cut off. "No! Listen, I'll give you the info first, with your brains you'll remember it all. Then let the vixen kill me, you'll have the info, she'll have her revenge, I'll atone for my sins, everyone happy." Archibald said.

"Glad you think so, now if you would hurry up, my daggers are itching to get in your ribcage." Fiona said impatiently. "Okay…but before I give you the info, would you tell Sasha I'm sorry, and that I love her?" Archibald asked Tails. "Who is Sasha?" Fiona asked. "My daughter…" Archibald answered. "Are you pulling my leg?" Fiona asked. "No it's true, the Freedom Fighters have moved her to safety before we picked up Archibald." Tails answered.

"How do I know it's not a trick?" Fiona asked. Archibald took out a picture and showed it to Fiona, of Archibald, his (late) wife and his daughter, a small black cat girl. Fiona looked at the picture and it looked pretty real. No kid could act that good as the cat girl looked happy in Archibald's presence. "I…I…almost took a father from his daughter…I almost became…what I hated." Fiona said as tears welled up in her eyes and she dropped the picture. She dropped on her knees and buried her face in her hands. Tails felt sorry for her, sat down at her side and wrapped her arm around her.

"It's not too late for you, if you truly can show regret. You really have lost your way, have you?" Tails asked. Fiona removed her hands from her face and nodded. "Please don't cry. It doesn't suit you. A girl like you needs to be happy. Be happy for the mistake you didn't make, and for the new goals you can set for the future." Tails said to her. "I did hit you pretty bad out there, but you still show me kindness?" Fiona asked. "I can take a beating, I'm a trained fighter. Besides, you are not really bad. I could tell it right away." Tails answered.

Fiona stood up and turned to Archibald: "What I can't understand is how the man that took my parents from me could at the same time be a father for his daughter." "It's complicated. To help you understand, I need to tell you what happened on that faithful day…from my point of view." Archibald said.

FLASHBACK

"So, you two lovebirds think you can make a fool of the Candyman. No one messes with da boss, ya got it?" a feline striped mobster said in a Brooklyn accent as he aimed his tommy gun at the two foxes that are Fiona's parents. "You realize your boss is a monster, a murderer, a crook!" Fiona's dad scowled. "I know, and I don't care! Life has been good ever since I got to his side." The mobster replied as he lit a cigarette. "Er…Tony, do you really have to do this?" A nervous Archibald, standing next to the mobster. "Listen, Squish, I only let you along cuz you're the brother of ma sister. But you gotta remember your rank."

"Mommy, daddy, what's going on?" a voice from the next chamber said. "Nothing dear, we're just talking with the nice people, you go to bed." Fiona's mom said, trying to get her daughter out of danger. "They have a kid? We can't do this Tony, the kid will be all alone in the world. The kid hasn't done anything wrong, she has no sins." Archibald moaned. "The kid can get adopted, no biggie." Tony said as he prepared to fire.

"No!" Archibald said as he tried to pull the gun out of Tony's hands. "Le' go, squish!" Tony muttered. However, during the struggle, the gun accidentally fired a couple of times, gunning down the foxes. They dropped dead on the floor. "Mommy, daddy…what's wrong?" a younger looking Fiona said as she entered the room, seeing her dead parents, gasping in horror. Tony and Archibald both had the gun, but Tony let go, leaving the gun in Archibald's hands…Fiona saw that as she looked scared. She turned around and ran away. "No, wait. I…" Archibald said, but Fiona had fled. "Nice one, Squish, didn't know ya had it in ya!" Tony said mockingly.

END OF FLASHBACK

"…you see, it was an accident. I tried to save them. But instead, I was responsible for their death in the end. I couldn't hold Tony back, I couldn't stop the gun from firing…" Archibald said, tears in the eyes of the old worn-out looking cat. "All my life I lived in vengeance against someone who wasn't even guilty…what happened to Tony anyways?" Fiona reacted. "Heart-attack, two years ago. Now sleeps with the worms." Archibald answered. "Mr. Del Gato, I'm so sorry, you're not to blame for my parents' dead, I'm to blame for trying to kill you." Fiona said sadly. "I should be asking for your forgiveness. I was a coward all these years, I should have stepped out the mob years ago." Archibald replied. "I forgive you, if you forgive me." Fiona said. "I do." Archibald said.

However, no one noticed as the same assassin from the Casino Night Zone snuck up on them. He had aimed his rifle at Archibald. He fired and… "Look out!" Fiona said as she jumped in front of Archibald and took the bullet, collapsing on the ground. "No!" Tails shouted as he looked at the sniper angrily. The sniper tried to run, but Tails used his tails to fly and catch up to him and knock him out with a single kick. He then moved back to Fiona and listened to her pulse. "She's still alive, but she needs medical treatment. I call upon the other Freedom Fighters." Tails said as he grabbed his communicator.

Muttski dodged laser blasts from Buzzbomber's eyes as he tried his best not to get burned. "Dance, doggie, dance!" Buzzbomber said as he continued firing. Muttski ducks behind a large boulder to shield himself. "Come out where ever you are doggie, Buzzbomber has a treat for you." Buzzbomber said. Buzzbomber flew towards the boulder and looked behind it, only to see a Ricky eat a walnut. "Hey, where is doggy?" Buzzbomber asked. At that point, Muttski jumps from above and lands on Buzzbomber's back, a cowboy hat in his one hand as he rodeo'd the bee-bot. "Yi-haa! Hi-ho Buzzbomber away!" Muttski said as Buzzbomber tried to shake Muttski off, flying around spastically with the mutt on his back.

Muttski's free arm was around Buzzbomber's eyes as he flew around wildly. "Doggy get off my back, and move his filthy paw from my face." "Okay!" Muttski said as he jumped off, Buzzbomber saw a tree in front of him and couldn't dodge in time. BONK! He smacked into the tree, and comically slid down.

At the same time, Rotor is seen throwing some bombs in the sky, blowing some Buzzbombers up while grounding the rest of them, giving Antoine the opportunity to cut them to ribbons while Harry shot them all down. "So, that's the last one. Now let's get out and meet up with Tails before sleeping ugly wakes up." Rotor suggested. Then their communicators rang. Rotor picked up: "Hello?" "Guys, we were attacked by an assassin earlier. Me and Archibald are okay, but an innocent bystander got caught in the crossfire, she needs medical attention quickly." Tails said. "We're on our way." Rotor said as the Freedom Fighters left.

At the Under Ground zone, Bunnie is seen fighting a herd of Kama-Kama's while Sally was fighting a giant Antlion-like robot. Eggman in his Egg-Mobile oversaw this. "You think you could sneak in here without me noticing. Your boyfriend may already be down the Eternity Ring, but all I do is wait for him to pop out with the Emerald, after which I take the emerald and kill him." Eggman said.

"Can you shot your yap for about five minutes, can't you see I'm trying to kill one of your robots? Besides, Sonic and I are just really close friends." Sally said as she jumped over the jaws of the Antlion, before slamming her bo staff against its forehead, knocking it back. "I dunno Sally-girl, you and Sonic seem awfully close, I mean even some of his witty banter has rubbed off on ya." Bunnie said as she blasted a herd of Kama-Kama's with her sonic blaster. "Oh the same way you and Antoine have been acting lately?" Sally said as she swept with her bo staff at the Antlion's legs and made it fall on his side. "Er…weren't we just talkin' about you?" Bunnie said flustered as she rammed two Kama-Kama's into one another.

"Will you stop ignoring me?" Eggman asked pissed. "Haven't you learned it's not polite to interrupt a conversation?" Sally reacted. "Ya know Sally-girl, this fightin' is boring me. Ya got something to end this?" Bunnie asked. "Yes, a matter of fact I do." Sally said as she pulled two Power Rings out of her backpack. Sally wrapped one of them around her bo, while Bunnie put the second one around her arm. Sally's bo staff spouted it spear blade, which glowed yellow with the energy of the Power Ring. Sally slashed with the blade of her spear, and the Antlion robot was cut clean in two. Bunnie fired her cannon, which was so much more intense with the power of the Rings it reduced all the remaining Kama-Kama's to dust in one blast.

"Drat…it doesn't matter, your luck is going to run out eventually, and when it does, you shall regret messing with the Eggman Empire. And believe me it will, because I control nearly the entirety of the globe. One day it's going to be over, and it will all depend on whether you fail to amuse me anymore or when you I think I can't risk having you around anymore." Eggman said as he flew away. At the same time Sonic stepped out of the Warp Ring. "Hey girls, I got the third emerald. This time Espik made me collect blue balls…no innuendos please! Hey, did you start the party without me? I would have liked to destroy some Eggman Robots!" "Well, you're always the one saving the day, why can't we?" Sally asked. "I guess you're right…let's just take this baby home." Sonic said as he showed off the red emerald.

Later that day Fiona was brought to the hospital wing of the Freedom Fighter headquarters. The bullet didn't hit any vital organs and was rather easily removed. Later on, Tails visited Fiona at her sickbed. "Hey…" he said, carrying some flowers in his hand. "Are those for me?" Fiona asked. "Do you see anyone else beside us?" Tails said as he put them in a vase. "You're really sweet." She said. "You deserve it, that was very gutsy taking a bullet like that." Tails stated. "I call it a way to make up to Archie. I should actually thank you, for showing me the right path in life. If you didn't, it would have been like you said: vengeance would have become me." Fiona replied.

"That's what Freedom Fighters do: we help people in every way we can." Tails said. "I felt so alone for most of my life, because my feelings of vengeance pushed everyone away…I don't know where to go now." She said. "You could stay with us, be a Freedom Fighter." Tails suggested. "Me? After all I've done?" Fiona asked. "Sure you can, now you've let go of the past, you can set a new goal. We fight the Eggman Empire, to ensure no one has to suffer the pain we got through." Tails said. "You know…you're right. Once I'm recovered, you'd help me become a Freedom Fighter, learn me all the tricks?" Fiona asked. "It'll be my pleasure." Tails replied.

They then heard some knocking on the door. Archibald and his daughter from the picture, Sasha came in. "Can I come in?" he asked. "Sure!" Fiona said kindly. Sasha walked towards Fiona and handed her a little flower. "Daddy said you saved him. I want to thank you." she said. Fiona smiled as she put the little flower in the vase with Tails' and then rubbed Sasha's head. "In a way your dad saved me as well, though it's hard to explain…" "I'm just glad you are okay and the bad men won't come after me and daddy anymore." Sasha said cutely. "No they won't, they won't find you in here, the Freedom Fighters protect you." Fiona assured her.

Sasha walked back to her dad. Archibald hasn't said a word, but he didn't need to. Everything already has been said by Sasha. Fiona just nodded at him as Archibald left with her. "You know, for the first time in my life, I feel everything's going all right." Fiona stated. "But the war between us and Eggman still exists, and it's not all going to be easy." Tails reminded her. "I know…but now I finally can make something of my life, I shall continue to the very end." Fiona said. "You're not alone, me and the other Freedom Fighters are at your side." Tails said. "Thanks…you're the first friend I've had in a long time, so thanks for your friendship Tails." Fiona said. "You're welcome." Tails said. The two stared each other in the eyes and blushed slightly.

Sonic and Sally had arrived back at HQ and were briefed about what has been going on between Tails, Fiona and Archibald. "So, he got himself a girlfriend of sorts?" Sonic asked amused. "They have grown close in the short while they were together, but nothing's official. As you know those things take time." Rotor assured them. "I think it's sweet. Tails grows up so very fast." Sally stated. "He's already in his puberty, so is he going to have a mid-life crisis when he's twenty?" Sonic joked. "Well, Tails is mature beyond his age." Sally stated.

"Oh, jokes and relationships aside, Archibald has given us the details of the conversation between Eggman and the Candyman he overheard." Rotor added. "What did he say?" Sonic asked. "He doesn't know exactly what it is, but Eggman is building something big like a flying fortress of sorts, as he heard something about 'take the greatest and most destructive machine ever to the skies'. It sounds serious." Rotor answered. "Then we are doing good by collecting those Chaos Emeralds. They're going to be more useful than we thought in the future." Sally said.

Eggman was back at his office in the Metropolis zone. "Master, I have failed to kill Archibald, and the same goes for the mobsters, now the Freedom Fighters will know about your plans." Buzzbomber apologized. "It doesn't matter, in fact it might be beneficial if they do know." Eggman said. "What? How can that be any good?" Crabmeat asked. "It might prove an excellent chance to lure them in the open in a near future, in fact they might take the Chaos Emeralds along, and if we plan things out right, we can crush them and take the Emeralds." Eggman explained. "So I did good?" Buzzbomber asked. "In a way, you didn't make it too easy for them so they won't suspect a thing. Now, you're dismissed, I need to make plans for when the time comes." Eggman said as he dismissed his generals. "You just play your silly games, Freedom Fighters. Cause I play my game and when I play…I play to win."

END OF CHAPTER 7


	8. Three's a crowd

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHT: THREE'S A CROWD

Several years ago, before the Eggman Empire invaded, even before Sonic had met his friends as a kid…at Emerald Hill Kindergarten, three Mobian dogs were called to see the school psychiatrist Cocoa Cat. "Ms. Cat, what is wrong with our little brother?" the first brother asked. He was quite muscular and his fur was completely brown and had blue eyes. He wore a blue shirt and brown pants and had sunglasses on top of his head. "Yes, what's going on with our dear Percival?" the second asked. He also had brown (though) fur and blue eyes, though his outfit was flashy and pink, as were his glasses, and acted very effeminate. "Why is he acting this way?" the third one asked, who was the tallest. He wore a grey sport outfit, but his fur and eyes were the same color as the other three.

"I think the fact Percy has created this 'Muttski' persona is because he's living in your shadow." Cocoa explained. "In our shadow? But we raised Percival like mom and dad would have wanted, we made sure he was nothing short." The first brother replied. "Yes, we never let our careers get in the way of our quality time with our brother." The second brother said. "We never gave Percy the impression he was inferior." The third brother added. "You didn't, there's no doubt about that. Percy really spoke high of you and even calls you the best brothers there are…it's just his classmates." Cocoa replied.

"They pick on him?" the first brother asked agitated. "No but…listen, you three are quite the celebrities: you're a famous actor (to the first brother), you're the most well-known fashion designer around (to the second brother) and you are a basketball icon (to the third brother)." Cocoa replied. "What's your point?" the second brother asked. "They only want to hang out with him because of you, and not because of who he is, and that weighs on him psychologically." Cocoa explained.

"So you're saying, he acts this wacky to stand out?" the third brother asked. "Indeed." Cocoa answered. "What do you suggest we do?" the first brother asked again. "You just refer him by his new nickname, it's healthier for him if he develops a way to stand out, it's good for his confidence. Despite his antics, tests show he's otherwise just like any kid his age. I'll give you some folders with additional info so you'll know how to deal with his behavior." Cocoa suggested as she handed them the folders.

In the corner of the room, the young Percival, or 'Muttski' as he calls himself now, was playing with some toys. He had built himself a construction out of lego blocks, which looked like a fire station. The three brothers knew why Muttski built that: their parents were firefighters who died saving people from a burning building. "Sleuth, Lionel, Kruger, look what Muttski has made!" he said. Muttski was really good with blocks.

"That's a really nice construction Per…I mean Muttski." The second brother (Lionel) said. "We're done with Miss Cocoa here, let's go home and get ourselves some pizza okay?" the third brother (Kruger) added. "Yay, pizza! Muttski wants one with soy cheese and eggplants!" Muttski said happily…

Several years later, the present-day Muttski wakes up. He dreamt the same dream every night: he was with his brothers. But like the rest of the Freedom Fighters, his family members were turned into Badniks. After Muttski had showered, he went for his favorite spot: the kitchen! He made some waffles and pancakes for breakfast for the rest of the team. Cooking had a very relaxing effect on him, it kept his sanity in check.

Cutting several years back, to another fellow Freedom Fighter's youth. "But papa, I do not want to go to this school. I know nobody 'ere." A young Antoine said. "C'est ridicule! You'll be just fine." His father Armand told him. "But papa…I want to go back to my old school." Antoine begged. "I can't…we live in a new place now, and with a new place comes a new start, just give it a chance mon fils." Armand insisted. Antoine knew there was no arguing as he went inside the school. His father had moved here after his wife died of an incurable illness, and moved away from where they used to live to never be reminded again of her, to avoid the pain.

Armand used to be a military officer, but got an injury during a mission in Yurashia that led to him to being unable to participate in any more missions being reduced to doing administration for the army, something he resented. He tried to be as good as a dad as he could, as his son is the only thing that preventing him from giving up on life itself…but Antoine wasn't a stupid kid, and knew something was wrong with his dad. Though he couldn't think about it when the next few weeks, Geoffrey and his gang of bullies would be making fun of him.

Present day…Antoine had woken up as well, not long after Muttski. He looked at the scars on his hands, which he got in one of his first missions. After he washed himself he put on his clothes and the bandages around his hands. He looked at his wall, which was decorated with several swords he had collected over his various missions. His favorite was the one left to him by his dad, given to him the day he escaped the first invasion of the Eggman Empire. Antoine used it very often. He left to have breakfast.

Several years back, this time cutting to Rotor, when he was still known as 'Boomer'. His parents had moved in from Holoska, Boomer's dad was a very skilled fisherman and his skills didn't go unnoticed and he got himself a job at a new place amongst the Emerald Archipelago. But one day…it was just supposed to be another day at the job, but even the weather forecast didn't see that huge storm coming…and Sherman would never come back to his wife Georgette and sons Boomer and Skeeter…

Rotor woke up and like the rest of his fellow Freedom Fighters he had washed himself. Before he went to breakfast he did a few calculations. Rotor used to be a mechanic, but has taken a specialty towards demolition since Tails has taken over that job. He tried to find a way to make producing the metal-eating bombs easier, but with the Eggman Empire controlling the majority of the resources on Earth, he wouldn't be able to do that in a long time. Besides, it was risky using it on the Badnik suits, as it could risk hurting the ones inside…

The trio had joined the others for breakfast as Sally made the next announcement for missions. "Nicole had determined the next location of the Chaos Emerald, in the Marble Zone. But that's not all. Yesterday, a spy of ours detected some mysterious activities going on outside the forest, close to where one of our secret entrances to our hideout is. We expect Eggman or one of his minions is planning to take down the forest to find our hideout." She explained.

"So we gotta split ourselves into two teams for this one again?" Rotor asked. "Exactly. Rotor, you, Muttski and Antoine will take down the weapon they want to use to take down the forest, since you are good at demolitions. I'll take Sonic and Bunnie towards the Marble zone." Sally stated. "Doesn't Tails come along?" Muttski asked. "No, he's staying behind to take care of Fiona." She replied. "Ah, ze young fox has got it bad, non?" Antoine said. "Muttski thinks they're really cute together!" Muttski answered. "We can talk about his love life later, now we have work to do." Sally reminded them.

Somewhere in a camp outside the forest, several robotic forces of Eggman were preparing the weapon they were about to use. Badniks were used as workers, while several hermit-crab like robots stood guard and overlooked everything. They were called Spikes. One of them turned to Crabmeat: "Construction of the weapon is at eighty-five percents, ready to move out in about two hours." "Excellent. If this works, I'll be back in good graces with the old egg after the incident at the Chemical Plant. After that he'll lower his guard and I'll strike him down and take his empire!" Crabmeat monologue.

Eggman watched Crabmeat's antics on a screen, having a soda and popcorn with him, and so did Coconuts. "Isn't it amusing?" Eggman said amused like he was watching his favorite tv-show, Coconuts hooting in response. "Yeah, he will never succeed, but it's so fun to see him try." Eggman said. He then watched some other footage on his screen, seeing Sonic, Sally and Bunnie in the Marble Zone. "Oh…it's those hedgehogs. What to do…Oh, I know, let's send Caterkiller!" Eggman said as he pushed a button, which sent down a signal at the Marble Zone: "After a good dose of comedy, I like some senseless violence."

Sally, Sonic and Bunnie walked amongst the Marble Zone. It used to be part of an ancient civilization archeologists have uncovered. It was a tourist attraction until people found out there is a volcano under the complex. But they had to come here because a new Eternity Ring is located here. They went down a corridor (which was purple like anything in the complex. Bunnie wanted to move out and scout, but Sally stopped her. Sally tossed a pebble, and a spiky chandelier-like weight fell from the ceiling and smashed into the ground. "We can't rush ourselves in this one, it's booby trapped! Whatever race built this temple long ago, they wanted to protect their valuables." Sally stated.

"Or maybe we do!" Sonic said as he started to peel out. "Sonic, you're not going to do what I think you'll…" Sally began before the hedgehand rushed down the corridor, activating all the traps, but being too fast for them. "Sonic, what were you thinking?" Sally shouted, relieved he didn't get hurt. "Making things easier for you." Sonic stated. "You could have been crushed, dropped down a lava pit or impaled by spikes!" Sally shouted. "I knew you cared." Sonic said smiling. Sally groaned and said: "Never mind…let's get moving, just don't do that again." "Can't make any promises." Sonic said. "I knew ya liked him." Bunnie teased. "I didn't ask you anything." Sally said annoyed as she tried to hide her blush.

It was then that the ground started to shake. "Er…did I miss a trap?" Sonic wondered. "I don't think this is a trap…" Sally said concerned. Behind them, something busted out of the ground. It was large and robotic, looking like a cross between a serpent and a larvae, only robotic. This was the Caterkiller. The heroes turned around to see the hulking behemoth. "Run?" Sonic asked. "Run!" Sally answered as they ran as the giant serpentine mecha followed them like a locomotive.

Meanwhile, Rotor, Antoine and Muttski had been sneaking around the enemy camp. "Can Rotor see what exactly it is?" Muttski asked Rotor, who was holding binoculars. "Judging by the design, it's something tank-like, equipped with chemical weapons, as well as flamethrowers, perfect for the destruction of the forest. We need to take it down quickly, as it's nearly finished." Rotor stated. "What you want us to do?" Antoine asked. "Well, one of you needs to bring the Badniks away, another one has to distract the Spikes, so I can move in and demolish it." Rotor explained. "Leave it to Muttski and Antoine! Muttski is good at distractions." Muttski replied.

Sonic, Sally and Bunnie had been running from the Caterkiller from the corridor, but now they had entered the inner sanctum of the complex, which was surprisingly roomy. "Great, now I got some space to move. Let's squash this bug!" Sonic said as he turned around and faced the Caterkiller. The beast roared and tried to chomp down on Sonic, who jumped up and homed in on his head, knocking back and dazing the giant mechanical beast slightly. He shook his head roared again before he lashed with his giant tail.

Sally did a backflip while Bunnie flew with her jet boosters to dodge. The Caterkiller tried chomping down on Bunnie, who grabbed it's jaws in her hands and was holding him back. "Hit 'em now Sally-girl!" Bunnie said. Sally did several acrobat feats by kicking of walls, climbing up a pillar and jumping from the top with her spear ready before stabbing the beast in the eye, making it roar in pain. It shook his head, knocking both her and Bunnie of him. But Sonic reappeared, running on its back, before homing in on the eye that was damaged, knocking the plating off the left half of his face.

"Can ah finish it?" Bunnie asked. "Be our guest, Buns!" Sonic said. Bunnie morphed her hands in to a sonic cannon and fired it at the head of the creature, blowing it off and make it's body collapse. "Glad we got that out of the way." Sally said relieved. Then the segmented headless body of the Caterkiller split up, before each segment grew limbs and a head, each segment become a smaller, but lethal mech. "Ah think we're not done here." Bunnie said as the three prepared to continue the fight.

Antoine had closer into the camp, seeing the Badniks work on the tank. Antoine saw a megaphone (which Crabmeat uses to give commands), grabbed it, and spoke into it with a perfect imitation of Crabmeat's voice: "Okay you bumbling bots! Eggman is in a generous mood and allows you one short extra break, now scram and enjoy yourselves a bit before the big oaf changes his mind." The Badniks dropped their activities and moved away from the tank to take their break. "Whoa, I can't believe that actually worked." Antoine stated.

Meanwhile, Crabmeat and the Spikes were quite the distance away from the Badnik construction, because Crabmeat was trying to plot to use the De-Forestation Tank as a tool to overthrown Eggman later on. "Maybe I wait until he needs to take a dump, leaving him defenseless…but I don't want to stare at his bare-butt corpse upon defeat. Oh, maybe when he watches his soap operas!" Crabmeat mumbled. Then all of a sudden, a voice sounded around the area: "Welcome, ladies and gentlebots. Muttski presents to you: Muttski Dawg!"

In a burst of smoke, a small stage with a microphone, with Muttski behind it and some sound equipment. Muttski cleared his throat, the music started to play and Muttski began to sing:

Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime

His sister had another one, she paid it for the lime

She put the lime in the coconut, she drank 'em both up (3x)

Put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up, and said

"I don't know what the mutt is doing, but don't just stand there and get him!" Crabmeat ordered his horde of Spikes, who rushed at Muttski.

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said

Doctor, to relieve this bellyache, I said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said

Doctor, to relieve this bellyache

Now let me get this straight

Put the lime in the coconut, you drank 'em both up (3x)

Put the lime in the coconut, you called your doctor, woke him up, and said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said

Doctor, to relieve this bellyache, I said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said

Doctor, to relieve this bellyache

You put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both together

Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better

Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both up

Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the morning

While Muttski was singing, he used his weird antics to fend off the Spikes: he danced along on the music and used the dancemoves as a makeshift martial art to kick them off, then used the pole of the mike as some sort of bo staff to scrap them, before using the cord of the microphone to trip some of them.

Brother bought a coconut, he bought it for a dime

His sister had another one, she paid it for the lime

She put the lime in the coconut, she drank 'em both up

Put the lime in the coconut, she called the doctor, woke him up, and said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said

Doctor, to relieve this bellyache, I said

Doctor, ain't there nothin' I can take, I said

Now let me get this straight

You put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both up (3x)

Put the lime in the coconut, you're such a silly woman.

Nearing the end of the song, Muttski tuned up the volume on his speakers, to the point that the soundwaves were scrambling up the electronics of the Spikes, making them self-destruct or shut-down.

Put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em both together

Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better

Put the lime in the coconut, drink 'em both up

Put the lime in the coconut, and call me in the mo-o-ornin'

Yes, you call me in the morning

If you call me in the morning I'll tell you what to do {repeat to fade}

"Thank you, thank you, Muttski thinks you were a wonderful audience!" Muttski said as he bowed and blew kisses at the now dead robotic crowd. "I can't believe it, my entire robot crew defeated by that annoying crazy mutt!" Crabmeat moaned. "Muttski is not crazy, Muttski is just eccentric." Muttski stated. "I don't care!" Crabmeat said as he fired two fireballs from his claws and blew up the loudspeakers. "Hey, Muttski hasn't paid those off yet." Muttski said annoyed. "That will be the least of your worries, cause by now the De-Forestation tank is finished, which I'll use to destroy you and your friends." Crabmeat said as he ran for the weapon.

Sonic spin-dashed into a first Cater-Segment-Bot (CS-Bot for short). A second one lashes with its clawed hands, which Sonic dodged before sweep kicking it and knock it on its back before slicing it apart with a spin jump. Another one lashed at him, but he used an insta-shield to briefly protect himself before he kicked the robot and vibrated his hand through the robot's chest and ripped its core out, shutting it down.

Sally used her bo-staff to spin around on and knock away all the CG-bots around her. They got up, and Sally split her bo back into two tonfas and used it to smash the heads of the robots of.

Bunnie used her superior strength to lift one robot up before tossing it in a pillar. She then picked it up and used him as a flail to swat the other CG-Bots away. She then morphed her hands into blasters and blow the remaining bots to pieces. "Oof, that's all of them." Bunnie sighed.

"Okay then, now we got rid of the giant robot, let's put the Power Rings to work." Sonic said as he pulled out a Power Ring. The Ring revealed an Eternity Ring in the wall. "Okay, you know how it works. Just wait right here." Sonic said as he jumped through. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with him." Sally said. "How about givin' him some sugah?" Bunnie teased. "You're still on about that?" Sally said.

Sonic was once again met with an epileptic trip to the Special Zone, where the Mobian-like seahorse Espik waited. "Welcome once again, young hedgehog. You and your friends are…how you call it? On a roll?" she greeted. "You bet your curly tail we are. So, what's the challenge time?" Sonic asked. "Catch as many rings as you can before you hit the bottom." She said. "Wait…before I hit what?" Sonic asked as the floor under him disappeared and he fell down a shaft that appeared out of nowhere as he shouted: "Can you warn me next tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!"

Crabmeat saw Rotor near the Deforestation-Tank. "Oh no you don't!" Crabmeat said as he pushed the walrus aside and he climbed inside. He started to push some buttons and dials as he activated the weapon. "He-he! Now let's turn up the heat!" Crabmeat said as he activated some flamethrowers, which Rotor barely managed to dodge. Antoine and Muttski met up. "Oh no, were we too late?" Antoine asked. "No…the Badniks didn't get to finish the last five percents of the tank, you made sure of that. Now to make this plan work we must make it look like he has us on the ropes." Rotor stated. "Yay, Muttski loves acting." Muttski said.

"I might not be able to defeat the princess, the hedgehog or the cyborg, but the three of you should be piece of cake!" Crabmeat said as he fired the flamethrowers again, the three Freedom Fighters dodging. "Oh no, what shall Muttski do now?" Muttski said, overacting with the back of his hand to his forehead. The others rolled their eyes as they continued dodging as well. "Yes, the tank works perfectly. Finding their hideout and destroying the forest will be a breeze." Crabmeat said gleefully.

"He's boasting, that's my cue." Rotor said as he pulled out a trigger, and several explosions around the tank occurred, blowing off the tires and the weapons. "What, no! The tank isn't supposed to be affected by your puny bombs! How did you even manage to plant them?" Crabmeat groaned as he saw what the explosives have done. "Sorry to say, but I have interrupted ze work on the tank." Antoine said. "And I already planted the bombs before you decided to take a ride in the tank." Rotor added. "Which mean Crabmeat won't get to destroy the forest." Muttski finished.

"Oh crab!" Crabmeat moaned. "However, one bomb is late with the detonating…maybe I should press the switch again." Rotor said as he looked at the trigger in his hand. "Wait!" Muttski said as he halted Rotor, as he pulled out a picnick basket, tossed it down Crabmeat's cockpit before he said: "It's for on the way…Okay, let it rip!" "Where did he get that? Come to think of it, where did he get the stage, the sound equipment and the microphone from?" Crabmeat asked. "One thing I've learnt from living with Muttski: don't bring any logic in what he's doing." Rotor said as he pushed the trigger and the last bomb detonated, this one so powerful that it send the tank blasting off: "Oh Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaab!" Crabmeat moaned as he was sent flying over the horizon.

Eggman just got the message that Caterkiller was destroyed. "This is...unfortunate. But at least I still got the Deforestation tank." Eggman said surprisingly calm before something fell down the ceiling in front of him: the ruined Deforestation tank, and Crabmeat with the picnic basket he was given. "It appears you once again have failed me." Eggman said. "Er…I can explain." Crabmeat groaned. "Like how the freedom fighters outsmarted you and you plotted to use this weapon to overthrow me? I follow your every move, it makes some good reality tv. But to make sure you know your place…" Eggman said as he pulled out a familiar remote and shocked Crabmeat. "This can't get any worse…well, at least I got the picnic." Crabmeat said as he peeked inside the basket…Boom! It exploded in his face, making him black and scorched. "Oh crab…"

Later that day, all the Freedom Fighters had returned to the HQ, now with the fourth Chaos Emerald and with the Caterkiller and the tank wasted. "Well done, all of you. We managed to get an emerald and stop an evil plot at the same time. Things are looking up for us freedom fighters." Sally said. However, Sonic seemed uneasy. "What's on Sonic's mind?" Muttski asked. "I have an odd feeling…we already have four emeralds, but Eggman doesn't do his best to stop us. His machines were a challenge, yes, but I know that he has more powerful ones. Why doesn't he use them?" Sonic said.

"You don't think it has to do with the flying fortress weapon Archibald warned us about?" Bunnie asked. "I don't know, but we got to be more careful guys. I wouldn't be surprised if that deforestation thing was a distraction, making us think we're winning while…" Sonic said. "It's best not to worry about that for now. Besides, Tails and Nicole are thinking of fail safes in case Eggman would pull of something like that. All I can ask is for all of you to stay on your toes." Sally said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	9. Jungle Jam

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINE: JUNGLE JAM

A few weeks ago, Tails had met Fiona Fox. A lost soul formerly fighting for vengeance, now planning to fight for justice. Having recovered nicely using the Power Rings, she now was showing off some moves during training against a few robots. Tails saw her pull of some moves, and most of them involved her agility and powerful kicks, though her skills with the daggers were also formidable. Tails and Fiona have sort of bonded, since Tails visited her at the hospital wing nearly daily. Fiona intrigued him, she was confident, sassy, skilled…not to mention gorgeous.

"You ogling T-2?" a voice said behind Tails, startling the young fox. It was Sonic. "Me…er, no! I was just studying her fighting moves. She has skills…" Tails said blushing under his fur. "She has more than that. You like her don't you?" Sonic said. "Er…she and I have become good friends." Tails stated. "You want to be more than that, don't you?" Sonic teased. "What? I just met her a few weeks ago, I can't go that fast." Tails said. "Love at first sight exists." Sonic said. "Lemme see…trouble concentrating, heightened transpiration, warm feeling when I see her…you're right, I really think I'm in love." Tails said.

"I'm like Cupid junior, always knows when it hits." Sonic stated. "Yeah, like with you and a certain squirrel girl." Tails said with a sly grin. "That's beside the point, we were talking about you and Fiona…you love her for a reason." Sonic said quickly. "Well, she's strong, she doesn't take crap from anybody, she can be sweet, not to mention she's hot and…she's right behind me isn't she?" Tails ranted. Indeed, Fiona was behind him. "You were talking about me?" she asked, her face showing no expression.

"You see…when we met…it's like this…you were just so…and the last few weeks we spent together…oh man I'm terrible at this." Tails tried to explain. "Are those nice things you said about me true?" Fiona asked. "Yes. I meant everything, I really think you're that awesome. (thinking) Did I just say that out loud?" Tails replied. "Tails…you're so sweet." She said as she pecked him on the cheek. Tails stood there, petrified. "Hello? Earth to Tails?" Sonic asked as he waved his hands in front of his eyes, but he didn't react. "Dinner is served!" Muttski's voice sounded. "Good, I'm starving, you come guys?" Fiona said as she walked towards the dining room. Sonic still tried to get Tails out of his petrified state: "Tails? Buddy? Bro? T-2?" "I'm never going to wash my cheek again…" Tails finally said.

Later Tails and Sonic had joined the others for dinner. Muttski surprised everyone with some home-made pizzas. "Pepperoni for Sally, four cheeses for Antoine, healthy veggies from Muttski's garden for Bunnie, extra cheese and meat for Fiona and Tails, seafood for Rotor and for Muttski himself, delicious soy cheese and eggplant." Muttski said as he handed everyone their pizzas. "What you got for me?" Sonic asked. "Muttski's own creation, Muttski took pizza, replaced tomato sauce with chili, cut up some sausages and added cheese, and Muttski made Chilidog pizza!" Muttski said as he handed Sonic his 'pizza'. Sonic tasted it and immediately liked it. "Muttski…have I told you you're wonderful?" Sonic said. "Sonic did just now." Muttski pointed out.

Fiona had started eating like an animal, like she didn't have any decent meal in ages. There was a lot of smacking involved, and she also licked her fingers and ate with her mouth open, as well as belching real loud when she was finished. "Man, that was a good pizza! I gotta give the dog guy credit, he knows how to make a pizza." She said as she put her feet on the table and leaned backwards with her hands behind her head. Everyone stared awkwardly at her. "What?" she asked obviously. "That was gross." Bunnie said. "Your pizza?" Fiona asked. "No, you're eating habits." Bunnie added.

"Sorry if I enjoy myself, but that hospital food was just average." Fiona said as she picked her ear with her finger. "Haven't you learned any manners?" Antoine asked. "Yep, but I chose not to use them. Bad experience with the whole thing." Fiona said. She then saw a single piece of pizza left on Tails' plate: "You gonna eat that?" she asked. "No, you can have it." Tails said as he handed grabbed the piece of pizza and handed it out to Fiona. Fiona grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the pizza and literally began eating the slice of pizza out of his hand. Tails started to feel warm and nervous as Fiona did so, and when she finished the slice, she licked the tomato sauce of his fingers. Tails fainted when she finished. "Tails?" Fiona asked.

"I wonder what Tails sees in her…" Antoine muttered. It was then that the communicator sounded. Sally spoke into hers: "Hello?" "Nicole here, I deciphered the clue to the next Eternity Ring, and I have good reason to believe it's in the Jungle Zone on Eastern Barred Island." The familiar AI responded. "Well, it looks like we need to move out again." Sally noted to everyone. "Can I come?" Fiona asked. "I dunno…you're new on the team." Sally wondered. "But she got some moves, you should have seen her during training." Tails said. "Yeah, but we Freedom Fighters don't merely rely on brute force and combat, there has to be skill and stealth to it." Sally added. "Don't worry, sugar-queen. I'm all about finesse. By the way, if you don't let me in, how else can I show you what I've got?" Fiona stated. Sally sighed: "Fine, but behave yourself, there is too much at stake in this mission."

Later, on Eastern Barred Island, the island where the Jungle Zone and thereby the Eternity Ring would be located. The group snuck through the jungle. "This is boring!" Fiona moaned. "Don't say that out too loud, if we go any deeper into the forest, we might fall prey to carnivores. Be lucky the Eternity Ring is located near the border, if Tails' scanners are supposed to be believed. "How did you actually manage on your own for all those years?" Sonic asked. "I wasn't alone, I was part of a mercenary group. I later ditched them to pursue my own goals." Fiona explained.

"Quiet…Muttski hears something." Muttski said as his ears twitched. "I hear it too." Bunnie said as her ears twitched as well. "Let's investigate, but be quiet." Sally said. They moved closer to where Muttski and Bunnie heard the noise. They peeked behind some bushes and saw a camp of sorts. A platoon of humanoid robots with one eyed starfish shaped faces were training. The instructor was no one else but… "Slicer." Sally whispered. "You mean the Mantis?" Fiona asked. "Yes. He's honorable and plays fair, but he's still an Eggman General and he will attack if he spots us." Sally explained.

"Not if we attack first." Fiona suggested. "No, we need to find the eternity ring and the chaos emerald, that's our priority. We don't need Slicer making things harder for us." Sally stated. "Too bad, I would have loved to kick some tin can." Fiona moaned. "You'll get your chance, but not today." Sonic said. "I thought you would be the one for butt-kicking." Fiona stated. "Only when I need to, not because I want to." Sonic answered. "None of you are any fun." Fiona sighed. "Pipe it down, we don't want Slicer to hear us." Sally said softly. "Fine…" Fiona said as she wanted to leave, but accidentally stepped on a branch, making a snapping sound: "Oops…"

Slicer's antennas twitched as he then tossed the blades form his arms and cut down the bushes the Freedom Fighters hid in, exposing them before the blades returned to him boomerang style. "Greetings Freedom Fighters. You know, I was hoping you' show up. I need another good challenge from you. Besides, have you met my new battalion of Asterons? Trained them myself in the art of the samurai." Slicer said as the starfish-headed droids drew samurai swords (katana's) and struck a pose. "There goes our cover, we have no choice…fight!" Sally said. "Now we're talking." Fiona said smiling, but everyone except Tails stared annoyed at her. "Hey, like you haven't stepped on a branch before." She said.

The Asterons rushed at the Freedom Fighters with their swords and tried slashing, but each of the Freedom fighters managed to hold their own rather fine. Sonic spin-dashed into a first set, scrapping them. Sally grabbed her tonfa, blocking incoming sword swipes before knocking them out of their hands and smash their heads in. Tails used his tails as made-shift cutting weapons to clash with the swords, but was far more skilled and managed to cut the robots up.

Fiona wanted to go for the main price: Slicer! She rushed over the battlefield, knocking aside Asterons, as she saw Muttski dancing on the robot's heads, while Rotor blew them up with his bombs, Antoine slice them up with his sword and Bunnie fire at them with her arms cannons. She pulled her daggers and tried lashing at Slicer, who blocked both daggers with one arm before kicking Fiona in the chest, sending her flying away.

"Sloppy…you're not worth my time." Slicer said bored. "You take that back metal insect! I gave one of the freedom fighters a run for their money." She said as she got back up and tried lashing again, but Slicer easily blocked again. "Great speed and reflexes, but no technique…former mercenary?" Slicer stated. "How do you…" Fiona asked before Slicer used the back of his hand to swat her away. "Sally and Sonic are more of a match then you. I suggest you back down and fight one of my Asterons, who are more your level." Slicer said as he walked away towards Sally. "Get back here, I can give you a run for your money!" Fiona said stubbornly.

Sally had combined her tonfas into bo-staff form and was scrapping Asterons by the dozens. Slicer approached her, but Fiona jumped in front. "I haven't shown you what you can do yet." She said. "You are not experienced enough to face me. Get stronger and I'll fight you later, but don't get in the way of my other fights." Slicer warned her. "I'll show you experience." She says as she rushed at Slicer.

An Asteron in the shadows took aim at Sally with a weapon of sorts…it fired, the projectile being a pair of handcuffs of sorts. It flew at Sally, but Fiona bumped into Sally after being pushed back by Slicer, causing them to be chained together as the cuffs clasped on them. "Oh great, not only I get tossed around by a bug, I got stuck on the sugar queen." Fiona moaned. "I don't like this any less then you." Sally said as she tried to lash at an Asteron with her bo staff at the same time Fiona tried lashing at Slicer, but the cuffs kept them from going too far from each other and got into a tug war of sorts. "Fiona, can you work with me? I need to scrap some robots." Sally asked. "Not before I kicked Slicehead's metal thorax." Fiona said back.

"There is no fun fighting any of you if you hold one another back like that." Slicer said as he turned his back and left the two girls chained. "Come back here, I'm not through with you." Fiona said as she wanted to go after him, accidentally pulling Sally along, who fell to the floor and dragged Fiona down too. Slicer took the remaining Asterons with him and left. "Yeah, you better run!" Fiona growled. "Knowing Slicer, he'll return with new Asterons who are better trained then the ones we faced." Sally stated. "Please get her off me. She's cramming my style." Fiona moaned. "Stand still, I'll do it." Tails said as he tried cutting the cuffs with his tails, but it didn't work.

"It's sturdy material, I can't cut it." Tails said. "You mean I'm stuck to her?" Fiona asked. "It's no picnic for me either." Sally said. "It appears it's made from the same material as Slicer's blades, Megatal I believe." Tails said s he closely inspected the cuffs. "Well, we can try to get the Chaos Emerald before Slicer returns, so we'll be prepared." Sonic suggested. "This is going to be a long day…" both Sally and Fiona said.

As they walked down the path, Fiona and Sally refused to talk to one another and walked in the back of the group. "It's your fault you know…" Fiona said. "How can it be my fault? You provoked Slicer." Sally stated. "You were in my way." Fiona growled. "You should have listened to me and stayed clear of him." Sally said. "I do not take orders from anybody! And despite that I'm now part of your club, it won't be any different." Fiona stated. "You can't function in a group if you can't listen. This isn't that mercenary group where you can just rush into things." Sally shot back. "Then maybe I don't want part of the group anymore, I'd leave if I wasn't chained to you." Fiona shouted.

They were both silent for a couple of minutes, until Sally spoke again: "Listen, I have to be firm as a leader, we're trying to save lives here, and there is little room for mistakes, and sometimes fighting isn't enough, but knowing when to fight. We are trying to prevent that others have to go through the same crap we went through. We all lost our parents you know." Fiona sighed: "You're right. It's just that I've been on a different path all this time, one that led me down the wrong way, and I've almost forgotten what justice is."

"It's not all, is it?" Sally asked. "No…you see, after I lost my parents, I got taken in by a wealthy family. The only thing they did was boss me around and forced me to study hard and have no fun at all. I was used to make their real son and daughter jealous because they didn't live up their parents' expectations and thus they needed pressuring. But I didn't oblige…I got along with my stepsister, but my stepbrother was a jerk. But not as much as my stepparents…they showed no love to me. Oh was I glad when my sister and I set up a plan to make them go bankrupt so we could leave and start our mercenary group." Fiona explained further. "I'm sorry to hear. At least your real parents loved you before they…my real father acted much like your stepparents. I know how it feels." Sally replied. "You do? Then…I should apologize. I still haven't found my spot in the world, and I doubt I will fit in with you." Fiona said. "You still have a lot to learn, and despite the skills the rest of us got, we all need to learn a lot more too." Sally said.

"So…peace?" Fiona asked as she offered her hand. Sally smiled and shook the hand: "Peace!" they were silent for a few moments. "Tails likes you a lot…you were teasing him with that pizza. You like him too?" Sally asked. "I think so. I don't know what love is supposed to be like, but for now I can say I am intrigued by him, he's so mature and strong for his age. But why are you worried for him?" Fiona answered. "I helped Sonic raise his little bro for all those years. I feel like both a big sister and a mother of sorts to him. I just want to be careful." Sally stated. "No worries, I won't hurt him." Fiona assured her.

"I found it!" Sonic said as he revealed the Eternity Ring in a large tree. "Just stay here, this won't take long." Sonic said as he jumped through. "Why does he always get to the Special Zone?" Fiona asked. "He's got some connection with the Power Rings, and he is the most suited for the job." Sally said. "Er…girls? I think we got company. Guess who's back!" Tails said as he pointed in the distance, Slicer returning with a platoon of Asterons, who now were wearing samurai like armor. "He brought in the cavalry it seems." Rotor stated. "You ready to fight? This time, as part of the team?" Sally asked. "You got it Sugar-queen." Fiona answered.

Sonic has landed back in the Special Zone. "I'm back, and please warn me if you are going to drop me down a hole again." He greeted Espik. "Okay…now then, ready for your next challenge?" she asked as the chaos emerald floated in front of them. "You need to chase the emerald down, collect colored orbs to increase your speed." She stated. "No problemo!" Sonic said as he rushed after the emerald.

The heroes were fighting off the Asterons, but they got more skilled since last time and found it harder to fight them off. They still managed however. But the highlight would be Sally and Fiona vs. Slicer. "So, you've chosen to fight me as one…you learned to fight together?" Slicer wondered. "You bet, bug-brain." Fiona stated. "So, are you going to stand there, or pass up to a challenge?" Sally asked. "Very well." Slicer said as he prepared.

He lashed with his blades, but Sally and Fiona simultaneously back flipped to dodge. Fiona pulled out her daggers, while Sally grabbed her tonfa, which had spouted blades on the tips. They used their weapons to clash with Slicer's blades blow for blow. Sally picked up Fiona and swings her around for a spinning kick to push Slicer back. As he was dazed, both girls rushed at him. They used the chain of their cuffs to wrap over his midsection and drag him along and push him in a tree. Slicer pushed them off and pulled the chain of the cuffs, and then uses it to toss the girls on the ground.

Slicer prepared for the finishing blow with his blades, but the girls rolled apart, causing the mantis to slice the chain of their cuffs, freeing them. Then they pulled out their blade weapons again and held them at Slicer's throat. Slicer smiled: "Well done, you learn fast…I see my troops were more of a challenge, but still you overcame the odds. Keep getting stronger, Freedom Fighters. Until next time." Slicer said as he retreated. Both girls smiled at each other. "Good job!" they said simultaneously.

Later that day, the Freedom Fighters had retreated back to HQ, with a new chaos emerald, and a victory over Slicer. Sally looked at Tails in the distance, who was showing Fiona some basics about mechanics. "The others told me how you and Fiona learned to work together." Sonic said to her. "Yeah, she had trouble fitting in at first, but I know she'll be a valued member." Sally said. "It's not the only thing bothering you." Sonic stated. "You know me too well…it's just that there is something between her and Tails. They don't really have anything going on, but the chemistry is there." Sally said.

"You're worried for Tails?" Sonic asked. "Yeah, and I know in a way you are too. I helped raising Tails and I just…I don't doubt Fiona's heart is in the right place, it just comes with being a mother figure." Sally said. "Sometimes we need to wait how things will turn out Sal. That would be the right time to judge. And Sal…" Sonic said as he cupped her cheek: "You would make a great parent someday." He assured her. They were close to meeting their lips once more.

"Muttski brought drinks!" the two broke apart and looked annoyed at Muttski. "Did Muttski come at a bad time again?"

END OF CHAPTER NINE


	10. Return with a Vengeance

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TEN: RETURN WITH A VENGEANCE

Another day at the Metropolis Zone, and Eggman has called forth his minions. "You probably all wonder why I gathered you here?" he asked.

"Oh, is it your birthday and you are throwing a celebration?" Buzzbomber asked dumbly.

"No you boltbrain. You see, lately some very expensive and valuable tech are going missing down my domain and I want to find the culprit. However I know none of you are the culprits. Slicer is too loyal, Coconuts was with me all the time, Buzzbomber is too dumb and Crabmeat was busy filling my personal toilet with explosives at the time of the theft." Eggman explained.

"Why are you still trying Crabmeat?" Slicer asked amused.

"Because shut up!" Crabmeat groaned.

"Now, it's up to you three to find out who the real culprit is. I want to go after him myself but I am too busy preparing my super weapon. Just make sure the thief doesn't get in my way and get him as soon as possible!" Eggman said.

"It will be done, master!" Slicer said as he bowed. Crabmeat let out a cough that sounded a lot like "Suck-up."

At Freedom Fighter HQ, Sally had gathered the other Freedom Fighters. "Okay everyone, we already have five Chaos Emeralds, and there are two more left. But Nicole has recently deciphered the location to the sixth Emerald. We have reason to believe it's in the Starlight Zone." Sally explained.

"Of all the places it had to be Starlight, ever since Eggman took over he turned it form a paradise into a place where he allows his mobster henchmen to do their dirty evil business. Mom and dad spent decades trying to jailing those mobsters when they were cops and they have free reign now." Sonic said angered.

"I understand your sentiments, but we have to get that Emerald. It's not going to be easy, since the mobsters hate the Freedom Fighters as much as Eggman does. Because Eggman needs them, he has given them free reign, and the mobsters' empire has flourished since then, and I doubt they want the Freedom Fighters to take it away. Nicole?" Sally explained further.

Nicole's face appeared in a hologram in the middle of the table: "I now show you the profiles of the Big Five, the leaders of the crime cartels in Starlight." Nicole's head vanished, but five pictures of mobsters appeared in its place, while Nicole explained their backgrounds: "You already know 'the Candyman', Armando Toof. The next is Josephe Arachne, aka 'Don Long-Legs', leader of the insect crime family, generically called 'the Family'. Linsey Thorndyke, aka 'La Dama', leader of the Overlander mobsters. Eel Capone, leader of a mob of marine creatures, and one of the smartest criminals there are. And finally, Downtown Blackthorn Hare, arrogant, stuck-up, but dangerous."

"Believe me, I have been chasing a mobster for most of my life and I know that they are not to be messed with. We'll have to be really careful on this one." Fiona stated.

"That's why we need to go undercover. You see, one of the mob bosses is giving a birthday party for himself, and we're going to disguise ourselves as the caterers. It'll give us the time to investigate the mansion." Tails said.

"Why we'd want to do that?" Sonic asked.

"Because according to my reports, the mob boss has found one of the Eternity Rings, but being unable to activate or use it, or even know what it is, he keeps it in his treasure room." Sally added.

"Because he didn't know what it was, he didn't alert Eggman about it, so we don't need to worry about Egghead finding out about it. But luckily we had a mole on the inside." Nicole continued.

"Basically, we have to move out as quickly as possible and get the Chaos Emerald undetected. Those mobsters are aligned with the Eggman Empire, so we won't be able to put them to justice before we take down Eggman himself, but we can leave them with a reminder of what you do when you mess with the Freedom Fighters." Sally said.

Buzzbomber was walking through Eggman's base, a magnifying glass in his claws and a detective hat on his head, looking around. "What the heck are you doing?" an annoyed Crabmeat asked.

"I'm looking for clues! I'm going to find the thieves. But first I'm looking for my magnifying glass, I can't find it anywhere." Buzzbomber replied.

"You dumb-bot, you have it in your hands." Crabmeat scolded.

"Oh…hey you're right, thanks, but now I've lost my hat." Buzzbomber answered. How Crabmeat would have wanted to strangle the annoying dim-witted bug-bot, but he decided he wasn't worth his time and left.

"Stupid Buzzbomber, he can't even find a stick in the forest. Why am I even bothering looking for the thief if he steals Eggman's tech…wait, if I find the thief, I use the tech he's stolen to make a device to overthrown Eggman with. I don't know what it's going to be yet, but I'm sure it'll be big and destructive."

The heroes had approached the Star Light Zone, and like many other zones it was exactly the opposite what it used to be: it consisted of shady allies, ruined houses and a chaotic cityscape, making it clear the mobsters ran this place. "I don't like wearing these costumes." Fiona said straightening out the apron that came with her costume.

"It's the only way we can get in the mansion undetected. No one wants to mess with the birthday party of a mobster (except for us) so we'll be left alone." Sally explained.

"Don't you think they'll notice us? We're no real caterers after all…" Fiona asked.

"With Muttski's cooking? Even they'll not be able to resist the taste. And with the extra ingredients our Muttstar added, the mobsters won't be able to disturb us during our search for that ring." Sonic pointed out.

Down in the mansion, the five mob bosses and their most trusted henchmen were there to witness the birthday party of Don Long-Legs. "Happy Birthday!" they shouted. For a bunch of mobsters, they were very heartily towards one another.

"Thanks you! Youse the best friends a mobster could ask for." Don Long Legs said touched. As he took a glass of wine. "To us my friends, for our glorious criminal empire!" he said as they all raised their glasses and drank from it.

Armando Toof, the 'Candyman' was drooling. The hippo mobster was smacked on the back of his head by a Mobian Eel, wearing a robotic suit that gave him limbs and a device that allowed him to breathe on the surface: Eel Capone. "Show some manners, I know you like sweets and you're anxious to take a bite of the cake, but show you can act civilized." The eel mob boss said.

Meanwhile Downtown Blackthorn Hare talked to Linsey Thorndyke, the only female mobsters. "I have heard how your husband and brother died in a gunfight with some of those accursed Freedom Fighters, my condolences." He said as he reached out his hand.

However, a large Hispanic woman, Linsey's bodyguard, stood in front of her. "No one touches La Dama!" she said.

At the same time, Downtown's bodyguard, the giant hulking Mobian Bulldog jumped on front of his boss, only growling menacingly like a real dog would. "Blackjack, stand down." Downtown ordered.

"You too, Ella. Don't mind Ella, Downtown. She's really protective. But thanks for your compassion. I just hope something as cheerful as this birthday party will put my mind of things." Linsey replied.

It was then that the disguised Freedom Fighters came in with a huge cake (and the Candyman's henchmen barely managed to keep their boss in check). Don Long-Legs blew out the candles and everyone cheered as they finally started to cut the cake.

The mobsters happily started eating the cake. However after a few minutes, they all grabbed their stomachs, shouted: "Toilet!" before they made a run for the bathrooms.

Muttski smirked as he said: "Muttski is really proud of his quick-lax cake!"

As the mobsters were all in the bathrooms, Sonic and Tails sneaked into the treasure room of the mob boss. They saw the ring on a pedestal, ready to be used. "Okay little buddy, it's time for me to hit the Zone again, you keep a watchful eye out for me." Sonic said.

"Sure thing!" Tails said after giving the thumbs up. Sonic used a power ring to activate the Eternity Ring and jumped through, back to the Special Zone. Tails just had to wait until Sonic came out with the next emerald. However, when Tails turned around he saw several mobsters standing there.

The group was led by Ella and Blackjack, the bodyguards of respectively Linsey Thorndyke and Downtown Blackthorn Hare. "You nosy kids have overlooked one thing: not everyone likes cake..." she said as the mobsters cracked their knuckles.

Crabmeat was looking for clues all around the Metropolis zone, but with no results so far. "Drat, if only I was as good as this thief at covering my tracks, I would have overthrown Eggman years ago…" he moaned. But then he saw a stranger in a coat on the rooftops, with a piece of equipment under his arm. "What do you know? He's not as good as I thought he was after all." Crabmeat said as he followed the stranger in the coat.

He followed the stranger all the way to the junkyard. "The Junkyard, how original." Crabmeat said sarcastically as he went after the stranger. He looked at him from a distance as he saw how the stranger placed the stolen machine piece inside one of the junk piles. "I don't see what he's doing, he just adds more junk to the pile." Crabmeat thought.

Crabmeat was in for a scare when the junk pile started to move, most of the junk fell down and from under the pile emerged a huge robotic creature. His lower body seems to be a reconfigured Deforestation Tank, but instead of a turret, it had a humanoid upper body with a crane claw for an arm, while the rest of the body looked familiar: "Grabber?" Crabmeat asked surprised.

"Indeed brother! After you left me out to dry when the Chemical Plant exploded, I ended up here with the rest of the junk. However, I managed to gain a friend on the inside who helped me build a new body." Grabber explained as he tore the raincoat of his helper, revealing Buzzbomber.

"He found my remains, and I managed to hypnotize him…was easy considering his brianchip-capacity and he provided me with everything I need, while pretending to be his obnoxious idiotic self in front of you. And with my new body I'll have my revenge on you and Eggman for leaving me behind." Grabber said as he aimed his crane claw at him and fired a lightningbolt, Crabmeat screaming like a little girl as he dodged it.

"Ha! Missed me!" Crabmeat mocked before Buzzbomber rushed in and tackled Crabmeat. Crabmeat knocked the hypnotized Buzzbomber of him. Buzzbomber then unleashed a barrage of missiles, Crabmeat dodging most of them, but the last one hitting him. Crabmeat fired fireballs from his claws but Buzzbomber dodged in the air before using his wings to send out some very painful soundwaves, knocking Crabmeat back. "Whoa, never knew Buzzbomber of all robots could be so strong." Crabmeat noted.

"He always was this strong, but was too stupid to use his powers properly, but with my superior intellect controlling his actions he can unleash his true potential. And he has me helping him, so you're dead!" Grabber said as he fired lasers from his eyes, which hit Crabmeat in the chest and send him flying back. "I'm going to kill you brother! If we had a mother, she'd have liked me more by now!" Grabber ranted insanely.

Several of the mobsters rushed at Tails, but Tails used his martial skills to fend them off. He kicks one in the chest, before punching another in the chin. He jumped up, grabbed the heads of two others and bumped them into one another, knocking them out. But Tails had to dodge when Ella and Blackjack tried punching him, hitting the wall. Tails saw huge hole the two had punched in the wall, showing how strong these two were.

"Come to Ella, little fox!" Ella said as she pulls back her fist, ready to pound Tails, until a mechanical hand wraps around her wrist, and she was tossed across the room, and was knocked out cold. Tails used the moment of distraction to slam his tails against the sides of Blackjack's head, and knowing that Tails can turn his namesakes as hard as Sonic's spines, it felt like Blackjack was hit by two massive hammers to the side of his head and he was knocked out.

"Thanks Bunnie!" Tails said as he greeted the southern belle who just has saved his life.

"No problem, sugah-fox. I just hope Sonic returns before the mobsters have completely emptied their bowels in the bathroom." Bunnie responded.

In the Special Zone, Sonic had passed the challenge and earned the six emerald. "Oof, I thought the other ball challenge was though, but this one with three sets of colored balls and bombs sure took the cake. But now I've got six, thanks Espik! See you next time for the last one." Sonic said.

"Sorry to hand it to you, young hedgehog, but the last Chaos Emerald isn't in the Special Zone." Espik explained.

"What? But there were seven are they?" Sonic said surprised.

"Indeed, but the seventh one isn't here. The seventh one was never placed in the special zone to begin with. The seventh emerald is at a different place." Espik answered.

"Then where is it?" Sonic asked.

"I can't tell, I can only say so much. I can only say it's a place existing in legends. I'm sorry. But at least you got the majority of the emeralds out of the hands of the one called Dr. Eggman. Keep searching young one, and save Mobius. Good luck." Espik said as she warped Sonic back. When Sonic warped back he was greeted by Tails and Bunnie.

"You got the emerald, another job well done!" Tails complimented.

"Yeah, but we have not time to enjoy it, we need to go before the mobsters return. And there's something else I need to discuss when we get back to HQ." Sonic noted.

As the mobsters finally got back from the toilet, they found the remains of the cake, with a little title card saying: 'Happy birthday from the Freedom Fighters.' "Gah! Those Freedom Fighters! They'll pay for this, they'll regret messing with the family!" Don Long-Legs said angrily. The Candyman took another bite from the cake, before he ran back to the bathroom, having forgotten in his gluttony the cake was still full of quick-lax.

At the junkyard, Crabmeat was held in Grabber's grip and was being smashed in the ground over and over again. "Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself!" Grabber mocked.

"But you're the one hitting me!" Crabmeat moaned.

"Not at all, you brought this upon yourself." Grabber said as he tossed Crabmeat to the ground and whacked him with his crane claw arm. "Say goodbye brother!" he said as he raised his arm again for the final blow, and was ready to bring it down, however, something saved Crabmeat as the crane-claw like arm was cut of Grabber.

It was Slicer, and he was joined by Dr. Eggman himself. "Grabber, I thought you were destroyed. I am in a way relieved, since you did a good job running the plant, only I don't like you stealing tech from me." Eggman said calmly.

"Oh yeah? You abandoned me as much as Crabmeat did, so I won't take orders from you anymore. Buzzbomber, get them." Grabber growled as Buzzbomber did as he was told.

"Override: 5-0-3!" Eggman said and Buzzbomber stopped.

Buzzbomber shook his head as he saw Eggman and Slicer: "Hi boss, hi Slice! I had a the weirdest dream. It involved junk, a spiderbot and peanut butter sandwiches. The last one I'm not really sure of, but I like peanut butter sandwiches. And you know what the oddest part is? I don't even have a stomach!"

"I don't need the robot bee anyway. I'll crack this egg myself!" Grabber said as he fired his eye lasers, but Eggman held out his hand and created a forcefield with his cybernetic arm to block it. Grabber launched several missiles, but Eggman's cybernetic eyes glowed, making the missiles drop down and deactivate. Grabber now looked scared.

"You know Grabber, I can destroy you any time I want, either by voice command, by remote…I created you and I can unmake you too! Override: 7-9-3!" Eggman said.

From Grabber's chest sounded a computerized voice: "Self-destruct initiated!" Grabber screeched in panic as he tried to pull out the mechanism from his chest, but it was stuck and he couldn't get the device out in time as he was blown up, his entire body reduced to tiny pieces of scrap.

"You, Crabmeat, you're lucky you are far too amusing to me, otherwise I'd have done the same to you. But know that once the day comes you'll actually become a threat or when you're no more fun to me, I'll blow you up too." Eggman warned Crabmeat.

"Hey, why have you made Buzzbomber so strong anyways? Under Grabber's control, he was quite strong! I mean, he was stronger than me!" Crabmeat asked.

"You are as strong as Slicer and Buzzbomber, but you're too incompetent to make full use of your powers, the only reason you cut the squirrel girl's tail of was because you cheated. Now get back to work, if I'd pay you, it wasn't to lollygag all day!" Eggman said as he and the others left, Crabmeat behind them.

"I hate my life." Crabmeat groaned.

"I hate your life too, that's why I wanted to end it!" a familiar voice said in Crabmeat's head.

"What, who's there? Are you my conscience? Oh wait, I don't have one." Crabmeat wondered.

"No it's me brother! You haven't seen the last of me!" the voice of Grabber said in the back of Crabmeat's head.

"What? But how? You were destroyed! Just now!" Crabmeat asked.

"You see, since we were built from the same type of protoform, I could before I was blown to kingdom come, establish a connection and download myself into your head…not so surprisingly it's roomy in here. But since the download wasn't complete, I don't have the power to take control of your body. But I can talk to you and read your memories." Grabber explained.

"Oh Crab! How can this get any worse?" Crabmeat wondered.

"I'll stick around for a while, so I'll make sure I'll make your life more of a living hell while I'm here! So…(singing) this is the song that gets on everybody's nerves…" Grabber replied. Crabmeat shouted out to heavens in agony.

"So you're saying the last emerald isn't in the Special Zone?" Sally asked as the Freedom Fighters had returned to Freedom HQ and Sonic had informed them.

"Yes, Espik only said it's hidden in a place only believed to exist in legends. She couldn't be any more specific. Rules and stuff. But we must find out where it is. Maybe Nicole can decipher more of Uncle Chuck's files." Sonic answered.

"Sorry, there isn't anything else on the file, minus the blueprints of the Chaos Drives and Deep Power Stone. Your uncle didn't know the location of the last emerald either. I'm sorry." Nicole replied.

"Then we'll need to go through some archives, maybe history books or mythology books will hint us at the location of the Emerald. Until then, we need to stay alert in case Eggman tries anything." Tails suggested.

"You're right. But for now, let's rest everyone. And we got to stay alert, something tells me this is only the beginning." Sonic said.

END OF CHAPTER


	11. Terror in the sky

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ELEVEN: TERROR IN THE SKY

Charles Hedgehog, aka 'Uncle Chuck' has continued his undercover work as a Badnik very well for the past few months. His actions allowed the Freedom Fighters to retrieve Archibald, collect info on the mobsters and the Deforestation Tank. But now he was on the trail of something big, the big weapon that Archibald has hinted about. He did some data crunching on the terminal in his hidden outpost somewhere outside the remains of the Chemical Plant. "Nearly got it…Yes! Okay now to take a good look…oh no, the Freedom Fighters need to know about this one." He whistled as a bird-like creature with a lizard tail and dragonfly-like wings flew towards him. "Dove, give this message to the Freedom Fighters." He instructed as he wrapped something around the leg of the creature, after which it flew off again, ready to deliver his message.

Sally was in the library going through tons of literature. Espik of the Special Zone had hinted at the next location of the Chaos Emerald: a place believed to exist only in legends. But Mobius had known so many legends it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. "Not in this one either." she said as he put another book aside. "There is something we're overlooking, but what?" she wondered.

It was then that Nicole contacted Sally: "Sally, Charles has sent us another message, his pet bird has delivered it to us a few minutes ago."

"I'm on my way. Time to put the books down for now." Sally said. She left the books behind as they attended to the more immediate matters.

The Freedom Fighters gathered in the meeting room, Dove on her shoulder, and a USB Stick in her hands, which was what Dove had delivered. "C'mon Sal, tell us, what has Uncle Chuck sent us?" Sonic asked impatiently.

"A little patience please, I'll let Nicole process it first." She said as she inserted the USB Stick in the handheld. "So Nicole, what do you see?" Sally asked.

"They are schematics from Eggman's mainframe, and it's related to the weapon Archibald has warned us about. We know what it is now, it's a flying battleship, one big and strong enough to wipe out entire cities single-handedly. Big enough to be its own Zone…Eggman even has codenamed it 'Wing Fortress Zone'." Nicole said as she read the data.

"It makes the Deforestation tank look like a toy, we need to take down that air fortress and fast. But how do we stop it?" Sonic stated.

"I've been working on a custom battle plane, but even with various gadgets and weapons I've installed, it's not strong enough to take it down from the outside." Tails said.

"That's why we need to infiltrate it and destroy it from the inside. But to do that, we need to get into the Metropolis Zone itself, where Eggman is bound to be waiting for us." Nicole suggested.

"So, we're going to the lair of the beast itself. It's about time I go ahead and kick Eggman's can personally. He has destroyed enough, and I won't let his flying fortress destroy anything else. We need a report on all the weaponry, if we want to make it count, we need to know it inside out to stop it." Sonic stated.

"Whoa, you're sounding serious sugah-hog." Bunnie said surprised.

"Are you kidding? You heard what Nicole said about it, I don't have time to joke around." Sonic added.

"Indeed, not only the flying fortress is a very powerful weapon, you can be sure it's heavily guarded. We need to put our skills to the ultimate test, cause if we don't destroy it, Eggman wins this war!" Sally stated.

"This is why Eggman was toying with us, he knew that we wouldn't get the seventh emerald in time, and that without it we wouldn't be able to stop him. He knew he'd just have to wipe us out and take the emeralds from our cold dead hands." Sonic growled.

"If he wants to toy with us, then we'll give him a playtime we won't forget." Tails said.

Crabmeat was sneaking around the hangar bay of the Metropolis Zone. Crabmeat of course knew that Eggman was close to launching his ultimate flying fortress weapon. And he'd be the one to bend it to his control. "The fool Eggman, after all this time he didn't realize all those pity minor assassination attempts I've made were meant to distract him enough for me to study this weapon. Now I've figured out what makes it tick, nothing will stop me from executing my true final plan. I'll be the ruler of the world." The robotic crab said to himself.

"Why are you talking to yourself? Seriously, a monologue? Don't say you're going on the stereotypical villain course? That's so cliché!" Grabber's voice sounded in the back of Crabmeat's mechanical skull.

"Shut up! You won't laugh when I'm going to be king of the world. Now…" Crabmeat said as he snuck aboard the giant fortress and made his way to the control room, undetected by Eggman's security systems due to some surprisingly careful planning on Crabmeats part. There he planted a disc in the main computer. "Now only to wait until Eggman to activate that thing for me and I then step in to end his life at the moment of his glory. Then I'll wipe out the freedom fighters and have eternal glory."

"You're doing it again, the monologue!" Grabber reacted.

"Will you pipe it down or they'll hear us." Crabmeat growled.

"I'm inside your head, only you can hear me, I CAN YELL WHENEVER I WANT!" Grabber stated. Crabmeat just growled as he removed the disc from the main computer.

"The first thing I'll do once I've disposed of Eggman is to remove you from my brain." Crabmeat said as he left the hangar, only to run into Buzzbomber.

"Hi Crabs, what're you doing?" Buzzbomber asked.

"Just going on a nice midnight walk, always clears my mind you know." Crabmeat said quickly.

"Who were you talking to?" Buzzbomber said.

"Oh…I was talking to myself? You see I'm the only person who appreciates anything I'm doing and I'm also the only one worth having conversations with." Crabmeat said. He knew Buzzbomber would buy any excuse.

"Oh I know what you're talking about, I used to talk to myself all the time too, but I stopped with that when I started annoying myself. Seriously, all I'm talking about is peanut butter sandwiches while I don't even have taste buds and a stomach!" Buzzbomber said.

"Well gotta go! Bye Buzz!" Crabmeat said as he left as he said to himself: "Oof, that was close. Luckily he has the IQ of a fishstick. But now he mentioned it, I should stop talking to myself, it's really getting weird…D'oh, doing it again!"

Outside Metropolis Zone, the Freedom fighters had gathered. This time, they had someone new who would be going out in the field for the first time: Nicole. "Are you sure you want to do this? I know you've been used to your new digital form by now, but have you enough training with this to pull it off?" Sally asked worried.

"That's not the point, we have no other choice, I'll need to try, we can't let that flying fortress leave Metropolis." Nicole stated.

"Okay, I understand. You guys cover me and Nicole. And keep plan B on standby!" Sally ordered. The others nodded as they moved out to do their stuff. They had taken their positions around the hangar bay the Wing Fortress was being held. Several Badniks, robotic footsoldiers and tanks were patrolling the area.

Tails moved in first. He flew in closer to one of the towers with the searchlights. He planted a device and moved to the next tower, planting another one, all while staying clear of watchful eyes. Next was Fiona, who snuck up onto a robotic guard and planted her daggers in its head, before it dragged off a shut-down machine. There Bunnie had waited, and took of pieces of its armor to cover her organic parts and mingle amongst the guards unnoticed.

Bunnie moved inside, where she saw several worker Badniks. The Badniks had to be out of the line of fire since they were living beings on the inside. Bunnie passed one of the Badniks and planted a device on its shell unnoticed. The central program controlling all Badnik suits would adapt to the device eventually, but it allowed them to at least give one false signal to lead the Badniks out.

Muttski and Antoine were down in another hangar, where only footsoldiers were, and so were a few tanks. Muttski threw a pebble, making enough noise for a single footsoldier to move in closer and watch, only for the footsoldier to be cut down by Antoine. The two snagged a key for a tank from the scrapped remains, the two canids giving each other a thumbs up before they moved out and would snag one of the tanks.

"Okay, all the pieces are set. Now we need to get ourselves and Nicole in that airship. Start phase one!" Sally ordered over the communicator. Tails activated the device planted on the Badniks, to screw up their commands and made them all leave. The footsoldiers weren't programmed to react to the Badniks actions so they were easy. "Okay, now level start phase two!" Sally ordered. The explosive devices on the watchtowers blew up the searchlight and drew the attention of the footsoldiers. "Antoine, Muttski, Rotor, Bunnie, you're next!"

Muttski and Antoine had snagged a tank and used it to shoot on the other tanks, while Bunnie shedded her disguise and used her own cannons, while at the same time Rotor just brought out all of his explosives. "Okay Sonic, now it's our turn." Sally said. Sonic picked up Sally and carried her over to the main hangar, unnoticed thanks to the ongoing battle.

They went inside and saw it, the giant battleship itself. "Okay, this is it! Now we need to take it out." Sonic stated. However, to his surprise, the giant airship came to life as its engines started to hum.

"We're too late, Eggman activated it." Sally said in panic.

"No we're not!" Sonic said as he ran around in circles, creating a tornado which he used to give himself a jumping boost and land on one of the wings of the fortress. "Hold on Sal, you might feel a slight tingling." Sonic said as he vibrated his molecules and moved himself and Sally through the solid metal wall, inside the ship. Sonic let Sally go, panting heavily.

"You okay Sonic?" Sally asked.

"I'm fine, just that the vibrating thing takes a lot out of me. Luckily I packed some sugar." Sonic said as he reached in his secret compartment of his gauntlets and pulled out some candy, eating some. "Okay, that should do it for now, time to work our magic." Sonic said as he and Sally ran down the corridor. There were some robotic footsoldiers along the way, which they easily dispatched.

"Okay, I need to plug in Nicole somewhere around here, you find out if Eggman is on here or if he's controlling this thing by remote. Either way, draw the attention to yourself while we hack this thing and force it to self-destruct." Sally noted.

"Don't worry, Sal! I'm always the center of attention." Sonic said as he sped off. He rushed his way towards the main control room, but saw no Eggman there. "He's piloting by remote. But why, why wouldn't he want to oversee his own invasion?" Sonic wondered.

A holographic screen popped up, showing Eggman's face: "Hello Sonic, I got to say I'm impressed you managed to find out about my flying fortress, unfortunately you don't have any means to take it down. But I have the means to take you down." Eggman mocked.

"Oh yeah? Bring it Egghead?" Sonic taunted. Sonic wished he hadn't said that as the floor opened up underneath him, and a giant metallic robot rose up from the ground. To add to insult, the robot looked like him.

"Sonic, meet Silver Sonic. Silver Sonic, destroy him!" Eggman ordered. Silver Sonic readied his fist as he tried to punch Sonic, who used his speed to dodge.

"Okay, not only you rip me off, but you do it really badly! I'm going to show you what the real me is made off, silverhead!" Sonic said as he prepared to fight the hulking mecha.

The Freedom Fighters were on the ground fighting the ground troops as they saw the Wing Fortress Zone rise to the skies. "Oh ma stars, they've already finished it and now it's gonna fly off!" Bunnie said.

"Not if we can help it." Tails said as he pushed a button on his wrist. A blue plane came from the distance and landed next to him. "Meet the Tornado, or Tori for short." Tails said.

"Hi Bunnie! Nice meeting you." a female voice said from inside the Tornado.

"It even has AI? Wow, Tails! How did you manage to put that together in such a short while?" Fiona said impressed.

"I'd rather be referred as a 'her' then a 'that' if you don't mind? Now are you lot going to hop aboard or stand there like garden gnomes?" Tori asked. Everyone looked at Tails.

"Yeah I programmed some sassiness into her. But more about that later, I'll go behind the wheel, Fiona, you go in the back, Bunnie you on top of the wings, I've magnetized them so you can stand on it. We're going on. Muttski, Antoine and Boomer have enough firepower at their hands to handle things further here." Tails said as he and the girls took their position in the aircraft.

"Put on your seatbelts and sorry if you're going to get a fur wedgie because of the turbulence, but it's going to be a bumpy flight! And you lovebirds no funny business while I'm flying…" Tori announced.

"What does it…I mean she mean by that Tails?" Fiona asked.

"Er…no time, let's move!" Tails said as Tori's engines started the mechanized plane moved out towards the Sky fortress.

Sonic was still fighting Silver Sonic. Sonic spin-dashed into the giant robot's chest, knocking it back slightly. But the machine recovered quickly and fired lasers from its eyes. Sonic barely dodged the lasers, but that was a mere distraction as the machine punched him hard, send him flying out of the control room and onto the sky deck. Sonic picked himself up and muttered: "For a rip-off he knows how to fight." Silver Sonic had followed him onto the Sky deck and the giant machine curled into a giant metallic spiny ball. "Great, he's copying my spin-dash." Sonic said annoyed as he ran fast to avoid the rolling giant machine.

"Let's see how fast this thing can turn." Sonic said as he made some very swift and fast turns, and due to the size of Silver Sonic, it had a poor grip. But soon several turrets started to pop up as they shot at Sonic. Sonic dodged, but he knew he couldn't pay attention to both Silver Sonic and the turrets. "Hello! I got an idea." Sonic said as he ran straight for the turrets.

He dodged the gunfire and side-stepped so the guns would fire at Silver Sonic, who in his spin-dash mode was not vulnerable to the bullets but he destroyed the turrets for Sonic. After the turrets were destroyed, Silver Sonic uncurled, his metal spines slightly broken. Apparently, he couldn't keep up the spin-dash as long as Sonic and his quills weren't as durable.

"Okay, here's my chance!" Sonic said as he ran around again, creating another tornado, which he used to give himself a boost in the air, before he curled into a ball and launched a massive homing attack on the Silver Sonic, knocking it off the sky deck, and to the ground below.

Tails and co saw the giant machine drop down from the Wing Fortress. "An Eggman robot, and one that looks like a rip-off of Sonic. Let's blow it up!" Tails stated.

"You're speaking my language now!" Tori said as she readied a missile, which she launched at Silver Sonic, hitting him in mid-air, the blast not destroying him but sent him flying further into the distance, where he shattered as he hit the ground.

"Okay Sonic, we're here to help you take this airship down." Tails said over the communications.

"I hope Sally and Nicole are successful in hacking this thing. Come in, Sal. What's your status?" Sonic said.

"Not good, Eggman has really updated his security programs on this thing, Nicole can't hack fast enough. And what's worse, it's heading for the Great Forest, he's going to destroy it and Freedom HQ alongside it!" Sally explained.

"Tori…I mean the Tornado, is strong but she can't take the ship out on her own, I haven't weaponized her properly for that yet, but Eggman put his plan in action sooner than we anticipated…" Tails muttered.

"Then I have no other choice…" Sonic muttered.

"Sonic, what are you going to do?" Sally asked. However, Sonic has used his super speed to catch up to where she was, took her and Nicole and shoved her in an escape pod. "Sonic, what the bloody hell are you thinking?" she asked angrily.

"Ending this flying junk pile. But I'll need you safely out of the way first." Sonic said as he launched the escape pod.

"Sonic, you idioooooooooooooooooooooooot !" Sally said as she was launched away.

"I'm sorry Sal, but this is going to get messy…I know Espik warned me not to use them unless I have all seven…" Sonic said as he opened another secret compartment of his gauntlets, showing the six small Chaos Emeralds. "But a hedgehog's gotta do what a hedgehog's gotta do!"

END OF CHAPTER


	12. Super Sonic

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWELVE: SUPER SONIC

Sonic held the six Chaos Emeralds: yellow, green, red, cyan, blue and purple…he was on the Wing Fortress, which headed for the Great Forest and Freedom HQ, and Nicole couldn't hack it in time to stop it…he knew the risks, but he had no choice. "Here goes nothing!" Sonic stated as he concentrated and the emeralds started to glow.

Sally's escape pod had landed right where Rotor, Muttski, Bunnie and Antoine had scrapped a whole bunch of robotic guards. Sally managed to crawl out and she didn't look happy. "That fool…" she muttered.

"Something tells me Sally is not glad. Why is Sally not glad?" Muttski asked.

"We couldn't shut down the flying fortress, so Sonic has put me in an escape pod and plans on doing something stupid…like blowing it up with him in it or something…why does he have to be so noble and stupid at the same time?" Sally said angry and worried.

"Listen, Soneek probably is doing what 'ee tinks is best, non…we are runnin' out of options after all." Antoine stated. But that's all she could say as they saw a huge burst of light in the sky, coming from the Wing Fortress. "Mon Dieu!"

"I dunno what's Sonic's doing up there, but it doesn't look like he's tinkering." Rotor said.

"He's using the Chaos Emeralds! But he knows that it's dangerous using them unless you have all seven." Sally noted.

Rotor grabbed the communicator and said: "Tails, you and the Tornado probably saw that burst of light, Sonic is going to use the Chaos Emeralds."

"I've seen the burst of light and…Holy walkers!" Tails said as he saw how a golden yellow blur shot from the fortress, turned around and rushed back through it, creating a large hole in the machine, before he kept repeating this, tearing apart the fortress bit by bit. "I don't believe it but I think Sonic has mastered the power of the emeralds with an incomplete set." Tails stated.

Soon the entire fortress was nothing more than tiny pieces of scrap raining from the sky. The yellow blur that had destroyed it rushed towards the ground and landed. Sonic stood there, only he was yellow, his eyes were red and his quills were jerked upwards.

"Sonic you did it! You destroyed the Wing Fortress. For a moment I thought you'd be…Sonic?" Sally said, overjoyed at first, but then she noticed an odd look on Sonic's face.

His eyes seemed dull and empty, and he had a scowl on his face. It soon turned into a face filled with pain. "I'm…burning…I'm…RHAAAAAAAAAA!" he shouted out as he grabbed his head.

"Sonic, what is it?" Sally asked. Sonic roared as his fingers spouted long sharp fingernails, his teeth became sharper too and his eyes turned into a series of red spirals. When the transformation stopped he panted heavily. "Sonic?" Sally asked. Sonic roared as his eyes glowed, everyone instinctively jumping aside as he shot lasers from it.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Rotor asked. Sonic didn't reply as he inhaled deeply and then shot a stream of green fire from his mouth, which they also barely dodged. "What does he think he's doing?"

"I don't think Sonic's thinking anymore." Sally stated. Several Eggman robots, who came as reinforcements for the ones the Freedom Fighters destroyed eyed Sonic. Sonic roared as he lunged on them and seeing how the robots were no match for a normal Sonic, they didn't stand a chance and soon mechanical body parts were flying everywhere.

Sally contacted Tails: "Tails, Sonic has gone bonkers, it must have to do something with the Chaos Emeralds."

"I know, I'm performing a scan on him from the air. The Chaos Energy he absorbed is unstable. It's affecting his mind and breaking down his body. He's bent on fighting and if he isn't stopped, he'll die from his heart giving out from all the fighting or the Chaos energy itself." Tails explained.

"Is there something we can do?" Sally asked.

"Keep him busy, make sure he doesn't head for the great forest or Metropolis, he might attack innocents in his new lust to fight. I'm going to pick up something at my lab, I'm sending Bunnie to help you." Tails replied. He turned to Bunnie and said: "They need your help, you know what to do!"

"I'm on it, sugah-hog." She said as she used the jet boosters in her legs to fly towards Sonic.

"What are we going to do, Tails?" Fiona asked.

"I have been working on something, I haven't tested it but it's the only way to help Sonic. Can't explain." Tails said as the Tornado made its way towards Freedom HQ.

Sonic has just finished off the last of the robots and looked around for something else to fight…he couldn't help himself. He saw the Metropolis Zone in the distance…but then he felt something tossed at the back of his head. It was a rock, which shattered into dust, not hurting him at all. He turned around to see Muttski, with Rotor saying to him: "A rock? Seriously?"

"Muttski could have tried!" Muttski replied. Sonic grinned as he rushed towards them, Muttski squealing like a little girl as he tried to get away from Sonic. Sonic caught him and held him by the back of his neck. "Chilidog?" Muttski asked as he pulled out Sonic's fav foot. Sonic devoured it in one bit but he wasn't done with Muttski. "Muttski should have made more…" the canid said as he covered his eyes.

Muttski was saved when Rotor tossed a grenade at Sonic, which expelled some kind of gas, which temporarily dazed Sonic, allowing Muttski to get away, but Sonic recovered quickly and now turned his attention towards Rotor. Rotor grabbed several grenades: "I know the emeralds made you stronger, so I don't need to hold back with these!" he tosses them at Sonic, who caught them in his hands and melted the bombs down to a puddle with his laser eyes. "Oh crud!"

Rotor was picked up by the throat and Sonic was ready to punch him into oblivion, as Bunnie tackled him from behind and tried pinning him down, but Sonic struggled violently "Sugah-hog, get a hold of yourself, this isn't you!" she begged. Sonic threw her off him. "Okay, you asked for it!" Bunnie said as she morphed both her arms into cannons and fired at Sonic, but he charged through the blast and grabbed her face, before slamming her into the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Antoine's voice sounded as he used the hijacked tank to fire at Sonic, hitting him dead on and sent him flying. But he recovered quickly, flew towards Antoine and ripped the turret of the tank before he plucked the coyote out of it, staring at him with malicious glee in his eyes.

"Sonic, put him down!" Sally shouted at him. Sonic turned her attention towards her, and dropped Antoine. He jumped of the tank and walked slowly at her. The others wanted to move in front of her to protect her, but she halted them: "No…don't interfere, I know what I'm doing." She ordered. Sonic moved closer, but he didn't attack her, he looked at her interested. "Sonic…remember me?" Sonic looked confused. "It's me, Sally…"

Sonic looked more closely at her, the empty look in his eyes seemed to die down a little: "Sal?" He then grabbed his head as he started screaming again: "I'm burning! I'm burning!" he grabbed his stomach as he was hurt by the chaos energy.

"Hold on Sonic, Tails is coming with a device, he can help you…" Sally assured him.

"Get away from me, I can't control myself…it's burning…it's…" Sonic said as he roared again and was reduced to the savage beast again as he flew up in the air and charged his laser eyes again, the heroes scattering to dodge. "Tails, I hope you get here fast enough…" Sally thought.

Tails and Fiona, in the Tornado were heading back, Tails having a device that looked like a backpack with a vacuum cleaner. "How does this work?" Fiona asked.

"It was meant to short out Chaos Energy, in case Eggman would get his hands on a Chaos Emerald and power a machine with it or something, but I haven't tested it yet. In theory it should be able to cure Sonic." Tails explained.

"In theory? What else can happen?" Fiona asked.

"It can strip him of his super speed, put him into coma or even kill him. But I have no choice, he'll die anyway if we don't use it. It's our only chance." Tails answered.

"But how are we going to get close to him, in case you didn't notice, I'm a huge flying target, if I try to get close, I might as well tell him: 'hit me, you idiot'!" Tori stated.

"You serve as the distraction, I'll use the device on him." Tails said.

"What, I'm the decoy?" Tori asked.

"You're the only one powerful enough to hold Sonic off, you got it all: the weaponry, the wits…" Fiona stated.

"Well, if you put it that way…" Tori said flattered.

"You have a way with words Fiona." Tails said smiling.

Sonic had just tossed Muttski aside as Rotor jumped on his back and tried to contain him, but he was tossed over Sonic's shoulder. Bunnie tried punching him, but he caught her fist, and caught her other fist while she tried to punch with that one as well. He started to crush her hands in his strong grip, but Antoine came to her rescue as he lashed with his sword. It didn't hurt Sonic, but it had pushed him back and let go of Bunnie. Only his sword ended up molten by Sonic's laser eyes.

"Everyone attack at once!" Sally ordered as they rushed at him all at the same time but Sonic glowed and let out a huge shockwave of Chaos Energy to knock them all back, and after that they had trouble standing up. Sonic then walked in the direction of the Great forest for his next target…

But Tori, with Fiona behind the wheel, swooped down as they unleashed bullets, lasers and missiles on the super-powered Sonic, who was knocked back by the attacks. "Yeah, take that you basta…" Tori said.

"That's still Sonic!" Fiona stated.

"Oh right." Tori replied. She started unleashing more blasts on Sonic, who grew angry and jumped up high in anger, landing on Tori's nose. "Hey, easy on the paintjob buddy, I'm only build a few days ago!" Tori moaned. He roared, and Fiona started to feel scared. Sonic shot lasers at Tori's wing, shooting it off and making it fall down to the ground as he jumped off. "Mayday, I'm going down, little help here?" Tori shouted.

Rotor pulled out a special bomb and tossed it right at where Tori was about to land, creating a burst of foam that caught her and Fiona harmlessly. "Bombs, not only destroy stuff, they save lives too!" he said, proud of his bombs.

"Well I'm grateful, Demo-man!" Tori said.

"Did Muttski hear the plane talk?" Muttski asked.

"Does Muttski always talk this weird?" Tori replied.

Sonic wasn't done yet as he made his way for his friends again, the urge to fight still fresh in his eyes. He started sporting a flaming aura, showing he's close to breaking down. But that soon changed when something shocked him and after roaring in pain, he fell down. Sonic returned to his blue color scheme as the emeralds left his body, scattered around him.

"Sonic!" Sally said as she rushed at his side. He felt his pulse: "He's still alive! Let's gather the emeralds and bring Sonic to the sickbay." She said relieved.

Eggman sat on his throne in the Metropolis Zone as he had watched the entire show. His generals were wondering what his reaction would be: furious or really furious. But what they didn't expect was that he would start laughing. "What are you laughing about? You lost your Wing Fortress, the hedgehog went berserk but he got neutralized!" Crabmeat asked.

"You think the Wing Fortress was my ultimate weapon! It was a decoy. A convincing one, but a decoy nonetheless. I wanted to keep the Freedom Fighters on their toes and most importantly, I wanted them to use the Emeralds, just so I could see how they worked. And it has been a success!" Eggman stated.

"What? You mean you sacrificed resources, robotics, security…all for playing with the Freedom Fighters?" Crabmeat asked.

"Indeed. And I knew you hacked it Crabmeat, you didn't think I was distracted by your little minor attempts? I wanted them and you to think that the Wing Fortress was my weapon while actually I have something else in production that makes the wing fortress look like a paper plane." Eggman explained.

"So all this trouble…for nothing?" Crabmeat said as he twitched violently as he roared out in frustration before bashing his head over and over into the wall.

"You got to admit that it was really smart of the big egg." Grabber said.

"Oh shut up!" Crabmeat shouted. The others looked at him funny. "My brother's stuck in my head, so what?" Crabmeat revealed.

"Oh really? Oh, I want a twin brother in my head as well!" Buzzbomber said dumbly, as Crabmeat continued to bash his head into the wall.

"Now I've seen what the Emeralds can do, I now know it's risky using them, but I have another idea for harnessing their power. But first I need to get my hands on another relic, and complete my masterpiece." Eggman said as he snapped his fingers and on a screen, the blueprints of an egg-shaped space station with the mad doctor's face on it appeared. "And since the Freedom Fighters have seen what the emeralds can do to their friend, they'll not risk using it against me again…"

Sonic was on a sickbed in the medical quarters of Freedom HQ. He was weak, but alive. He woke up slowly to see Sally next to him. "Urgh…Sal?" he asked.

Sally had been crying, her face told so. However, her reaction was less then sad: "Maurice Hedgehog, what the heck were you thinking? Do you know you could have been killed out there?"

"There was no other way. Nicole couldn't stop it, we were running out of time and options, I had to do it. It wasn't important what would happen to me, if I could give you, the others and everyone at the HQ another day to live, live to carry on the fight." Sonic explained.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through? I was worried sick, I was this close to losing my mind myself…I was so freakin' scared of losing you…" Sally said, her anger slowly being replaced with sadness.

"We're soldiers in a war Sal, sometimes we have to take the risks. You know that yourself, so why so upset now?" Sonic stated.

"Because I love you, you dolt!" Sally flapped out. Both she and Sonic were surprised by her sudden outburst. "Listen Sonic, we can't deny there's something between us, and we both know we want each other. But how can we be together if we are constantly living in a scenario where we'd risk losing one another?"

"Because we both know it can be over at any moment. When I was out there, I felt such pain, and I wanted it to stop, but I was out of control, and I couldn't stop myself, I was afraid of hurting you, and more afraid that I was going to die and leave you behind with the memory of what I had become before I died." Sonic replied.

"You're a big lug…but you're my lug. Promise me you won't be using those Emeralds again. If it's inevitable that war may take our lives, I don't want any of us to go while having to put you out of your misery once we repeat that scenario." Sally stated.

"Believe me, I'll never do that again. If I risk my life, I only risk my own. No one else must get hurt. Especially not you. Listen Sal, I know there is this chemistry between us, and while I love your more than anything else, if it really hurts you to see me play the hero, then maybe we should stay friends." Sonic said.

"Normally I would have agreed to be…but like you said, it can over for us at any moment, and I would come to die one day or you to die, I want it to be with the fact we're being loved…" Sally said as she leaned forward and kissed Sonic on the lips.

At his lab, Tails was tinkering with his device, the one he used to cure Sonic. Fiona had caught up with him: "Why are you still working on that thing, it worked like a charm!"

"Because something I understand. It was supposed to siphon Chaos Energy, and it did that, and forced the emeralds out of him. But the device didn't purge the chaos energy form his DNA…he's still blue and from my scans on him he hasn't lost his powers either." Tails explained.

"So how can Sonic still have his speed if your device is supposed to work?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know, maybe there is something more about Sonic we didn't know…but one other thing bothers me. You see, the energy I purged of him disappeared. Energy doesn't just disappear, energy can't be lost, only converted in a different form or use." Tails answered.

"So where did that energy go?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know. But I have a bad feeling about it all." Tails said.

"Don't be, we managed to have a victory over Eggman today, we destroyed the fortress, we saved Sonic's life and we got to kick massive butt. All thanks to your wits." Fiona assured him as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks Fi." Tails said smiling.

"Oh will you make out already?" Tori, who was also at the lab, moaned.

END OF CHAPTER


	13. Princess of Mercia

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PRINCESS OF MERCIA

"Princess Amy! Princess Amy, wait up!" a Mobian bird said as she tried to keep up with her companion. She was a bluebird to be precise, wearing a white hat, blue overalls, a white T-shirt, pink shoes and pigtails in her feathers. Under her arm she carried something that looked like a colorful skateboard without wheels.

"You got to keep up, Lily! If you didn't spend so much time using that Extreme Gear, you'd get used to walking by now. And please don't call me princess, I'm not in Mercia any more, my title is no longer of value." The one called princess Amy said. She was a hedgehog with pink fur, red and white sporting outfit, a brown cape with archer hood, a quiver full of arrows on her back as well as having a red and yellow crossbow in her hand. Her quills were combed down and held in place by a red bandana.

"Why did you need to leave Mercia, and drag me down with you? It isn't safe out here you know!" Lily moaned.

"I know, that's why I wanted to leave, I don't want to sit on a throne in a frilly dress while the rest of the world suffers under the tyranny of that horrible Dr. Eggman. That's what I've been training for all my life. As for you, you insisted to go with me to assure my safety, despite the fact I'm capable of handling myself." Amy answered.

"But you haven't been in the outside world before, that's why you need me. But we need a place to stay real quickly, in the open we are two targets on legs." Lily added.

"Listen…you hear that?" Amy said as she halted. They approached the noise before hiding in some bushes nearby the source of the ruckus: Sonic and his friends were fighting a herd of Buzzers, Spikes and Asterons. "Hey, they're fighting Eggman robots, that means they're Freedom Fighters. This is perfect, we can join them!" Amy said excited.

"But Princess…this is dangerous! You may have trained, but you haven't been in a real fight before!" Lily argued.

"Oh, where is your sense of adventure Lily? Let's go get them!" Amy said as she jumped from the bushes and joined in the fight.

"Princess Amy! Oh, what I do for that girl!" Lily moaned as she jumped on her Extreme Gear and reluctantly joined in.

Amy jumped in the fray, grabbed her bow and some arrows and fired them away, the arrows piercing the robot's heads right between the eyes as they shut down. "Huh?" the Freedom Fighters looked around to see Amy standing victorious; "Have no fear, Amy Rose is here!" several more robots headed her way, and while it appeared they were too close to shoot with arrows, she delivered a powerful swipe with her foot and kicked them back.

Lily then zoomed in on her extreme gear, delivering some punches and kicks from on top of her board. She planted her hand into the ground, then delivered a spin attack with her board to knock away some robotic foes. She then pulled out some feather-shaped darts and tosses them, embedding them into the robots. Lily snapped her fingers and the darts exploded alongside the robots themselves.

However, some weaponized Badniks approached from the distance. Amy and Lily aimed their arrows and darts, but they were halted. "Don't, they're people inside those robotic suits! Knock them out!" Sally warned them. Amy and Lily nodded as they rushed for the weapons, avoiding the gunfire and using their martial skill to knock the Badniks out. The remaining ones picked up the ones that were knocked out and retreated. "Ya-hoo! We beat them!" Amy said as she hugged Lily, glad she has driven of the robots, the bluebird girl blushing and smiling slightly in the princess' grip.

"Look out!" a blue blur rushed by, pulled the two out of harm's way as a bullet barely missed them. Then the blue blur knocked a Spike out of the tree, who was the sniper, and scrapped it. Of course, it is Sonic, and he stands triumphant.

Amy couldn't believe her eyes, she thought he blue hedgehog was the most handsome man she has ever seen. The blue was unorthodox, but to her it fit the natural handsomeness of him. "Princess Amy? Princess Amy!" Lily shouted in her ear.

"He's so marvelous…" Amy said blushing.

Lily looked at the blue hedgehog. Lily kind of gave him a dirty scowl: "I dunno, a little blue. Listen, we nearly got shot, it's not safe for us to get out in the field and…"

"Nice going back there!" Sonic said as he had approached the two. He reached out his hand as he helped Amy get up, Lily refusing help as she got up yourself. "You have a good aim with bow and arrow, you don't see that so much anymore in an age of guns and firearms." He continued.

"Oh well…it's a gift, takes a lot of practice." Amy said, fumbling with one of her quills while blushing. "But you were so fast and strong out there, are you a god or something?" she asked.

"Nah, just a hedgehog with some mad skill." Sonic assured her.

"So, what kind of dye do you use for your quills…I like the blue." Amy asked.

"I'm natural blue. Why are you pink by the way?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, my friend, a sorceress, accidentally transformed me, and while she restored me to normal, the pink wouldn't go away. But I kind of liked the look so I didn't bother to ask her to correct it. Just don't' ask what she turned me into." Amy explained.

"I'm Sonic, of the Emerald Archipelago Freedom Fighters, these are my friends Sally, Tails, Fiona, Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor and Muttski." Sonic introduced himself to the others.

"I'm Amelia Rose, just call me Amy." Amy introduced herself as she bowed politely.

"Princess Amy of Mercia to be exact." Lily added.

"LILY!" Amy shouted. The Freedom Fighters looked at her. "I didn't want them to know, I don't want them to treat me like a princess, I want to be treated as one of them."

"I'm sorry, but I just don't like the way the blue one talks to you, he should show some respect." Lily argued.

"He showed respect. You are just being overprotective again, seriously! Do you need to do this with every boy I encounter? (to Sonic) don't mind her…she just takes her duty too serious. Listen, about me being a princess…I don't want to be treated as one, I want to be part of your Freedom Fighters, I don't want to be stuck in a palace and let others fight for me. I've been looking for you." Amy said.

"You think she's telling the truth? For all we'd know she could be a spy for Eggman." Fiona asked suspiciously.

"I think our colleagues in Mercia have mentioned something about a Princess Amy, but why would she be so far from home?" Sally wondered.

"Because my cousin Rob and his friends would be overprotective of me so I set out to look for a foreign Freedom Fighter group. If you don't believe me, here is a picture to show I'm right." Amy said as she showed a picture of herself and some other Freedom fighters, which consisted of a hedgehog in archer costume, a black cat girl, a green canary girl, a squirrel, a rabbit and a pig.

"Those are the Mercian Freedom Fighters all right, and the picture looks real…it even has the Mercian royal seal. But why isn't Lily on here?" Sally stated.

"I joined the Mercian freedom fighters shortly after that picture was taken." Lily explained.

"Why would they let a newbie look after the princess?" Fiona wondered.

"I might be new to the Freedom fighters, but I have experience in combat, technology, strategies and vehicles." Lily answered.

"Where did you learn that?" Tails asked.

"Er…I used to be in the army…of a distant country…destroyed by Eggman?" Lily said nervously. It sounded reasonable to the Freedom Fighters so they didn't question her about it.

"Well, she's skilled with bow and arrow and she had combat skills, I'd say we can let Amy on the team. And Lily showed some moves on her flying board so she's in too. What do you think?" Sonic argued. Everyone agreed as he said: "Welcome to our group of Freedom Fighters. I hope you'll like it with us." As he reached out his hand to Amy.

Amy shook it as she said: "I'm sure I will!" as she looked dreamingly at the blue hedgehog, Sally giving Amy an odd look, as Lily was fuming in the background.

"So, with which fork and knife you eat this?" Amy asked as she looked at the sandwiches Muttski had made.

Sonic chuckled slightly as he said: "You eat these by hand!" Sonic said as he took Amy's hand and put a sandwich in it. "C'mon, try it!" he insisted.

Amy took a bite and smiled: "Wow, this is good, my royal chef can't cook this good, and it's just some bread and…what's in between this 'sandwich' anyways?"

"Muttski's special tofu and veggie salad, healthy but tasty!" Muttski replied.

"You never had a sandwich before?" Sonic asked.

"I never got to do things the common people do, I never did get to have any fun. What do common people do in their spare time, what do they eat?" Amy wondered.

Sonic thought for a second before he said: "Then maybe I should show you the life outside the palace walls, have you let have the fun they wouldn't allow you to have."

"Really?" Amy asked joyfully.

"Certainly, you deserve it." Sonic stated. Amy gave him that dreamy look again. Sally looked annoyed, while Lily squished her sandwich to bread pudding in her hand.

Sonic stood up to got the bathroom, as Sally also stood up and talked to Sonic separately: "Sonic, I want to talk…it's pretty stupid actually. I think you're getting attached to that princess too much in a short time."

"Oh Sal, we've only been together for a few days and you're acting jealous? You're the only one for me Sal, I just want to be nice to the new girl. You don't act jealous to when I talk to Fiona and Bunnie, so you don't need to worry about Amy either." Sonic assured her.

"Okay, if you say so…it's just…" Sally wanted to say, but Sonic cut her off by planting a kiss on her lips. "…It was so stupid of me to even think that." She concluded.

First thing Sonic did with Amy was playing video games. "Okay, you're probably unfamiliar with video games, but it's a standard form of entertainment. In this game you need to shoot each other…in the game, not in real life! Okay, since you're new to this and to make it fair, I'll be gentle." Sonic explained.

"Okay!" Amy said. They started the game and Sonic did start gentle, but he was surprised that Amy was starting off really good for her first try and before he could recover from the shock he found himself being defeated by her. "Oh…did I win?" Amy asked obviously.

Much later, Lily looked on how Sonic and Amy were playing tennis. Sonic didn't use his speed to make it fair, but it appears Amy was doing rather well either way. She gritted her teeth, but her angry scowl turned into a sad face. "You like her don't you?" a voice asked. Lily turned around to see Fiona. "Mind if I watch too?" Fiona asked. Lily shook her head as Fiona sat down next to her. "I think there is more to you then just being a loyal subject to Amy." Fiona stated.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just doing my duty, what more is there to me?" Lily denied.

"The way you look at her, the jealousy…you got it bad." Fiona stated.

Lily sighed: "Okay, you got me! Yes, I'm into girls and I'm in love with the princess who I am supposed to protect! But I can't allow my emotions to get in the way of my duty. Besides, she's straight, and she's head over heels for the blue hedgehog, so I don't stand a chance. But why am I telling you this? It's not like you understand…"

"I do understand…cause you see, I'm bi!" Fiona admitted. Lily looked dumb-founded at Fiona. "Don't worry, you're not my type. I already have my eyes set on someone." She assured the bluebird. "But tell me, why do you love your princess so much?"

"Because, after I was kicked out of the Ba…I mean after my kingdom was conquered I wandered the world aimlessly. I got in Mercia, where I was taken in by Amy who took pity on me. She has showed me so much kindness for me, an outsider, that I just couldn't help it…" Lily explained.

"You don't need to worry about Sonic, he is in love with someone else. I think the lovebirds have gotten together, but they haven't told us yet, but it's so freakin' obvious. Sonic just wants Amy to feel welcome." Fiona explained.

"But even then, what chance do I have? She's so sweet, strong-willed, fearless and kind, she's so perfect. She doesn't want me." Lily said sadly.

"Listen, she may be obvious to it now, but she might find out one day. It's best you continue to be the good friend she has in you until then. I don't know about her sexuality, but even if she doesn't want you, don't you want her to be happy?" Fiona said.

"More than anything." Lily said.

"That's all you need to know." Fiona said.

Later on, Sonic had taken Amy to the gym. "A nice sparring match always does me good and keeps me sharp. I'm warning you, even without my speed I'm no easy opponent." Sonic said as he struck a battle pose.

"I wanted to say the same. I must tell you that I'm not afraid to break nails." Amy said as she prepared herself too. The two stood still, unmoving for a while.

Both of them took a move at the same time, both of them launched a punch while catching the other's punch, locked. They try to push each other to the ground before they broke apart. Amy tried a sweep kick while Sonic jumped up and spin jumped over her before launching a kick himself, which Amy caught. She flipped Sonic in the air, but Sonic landed on one of his hands and used a sweep kick, but Amy dodged that one.

Both of them tried kicking one another at the same time, but their kicks bounced of each other. They both tried punching, but Sonic's attack was a faint, as he sweep kicked Amy and knocked her on the mat. He then grabbed her wrists and pinned her down. "Got ya!" he teased.

But Amy surprised Sonic by then reversing the roles and pin him down to the ground. "That's what you thought!" she said playfully. She gave Sonic a loving look.

"Why are you looking at me like…Hmph!" Sonic asked but was taken by surprise as Amy planted his lips on him. Unfortunately Sally had come in at the same time come in and had seen what Amy did…she turned around and ran. Sonic tossed Amy of him as he yelled: "What the hell you think you're doing?"

"But…I thought…" Amy said.

"You thought that…oh no! Listen, I don't like you that way, I already have a girl, I was just trying to make you feel at home. But now, because of you, Sally thinks I…stay here! SAL!" Sonic said as he went after Sally.

"What have I done?" Amy thought to herself.

Sally was seen crying in her pillow in her room… "Sal, please let me in!" Sonic's voice said from the other side.

"Go away!" she shouted back.

"Listen, there's nothing between me and Amy, she took me by surprise. C'mon Sal, you got to believe me, you're the only one for me…" Sonic said, sounding desperately.

"Why should I believe you?" Sally asked.

"Doesn't anything we've been through not count? You're not just a fling for me. I have loved you since forever, since the day we met, you think I just can easily turn my back on that? If I turn my back on you, I turn away on a part of myself…please Sal." Sonic begged. There was a long silence…

Sonic thought Sally has given up on him and wanted to leave, but Sally opened the door to her bedroom. She still didn't look happy, but Sonic did: "Sal? You trust me?" she didn't answer. "If you don't, punch me, right here!" he said. Sally raised an eyebrow. "Do it!" he insisted. Sally launched a quick punch, but it stopped a mere inch from his face…

"You could have dodged that easily, even with my skill and reflexes…you really want me to trust you." Sally stated.

"Listen Sal, the girl has the hots for me, but I didn't realize that and I've given her false hope by being kind to her, I didn't want it to come to this. I think I really am a lug." Sonic said.

"Maybe, but you are my lug." Sally said, finally believing Sonic and kissing him on the lips, the blue hedgehog returning the kiss. When they broke apart, Sally said the following: "I'm sorry, Sonic. I should have trusted you, but ever since that incident with the emeralds, I've been…"

"Say no more Sally! I'm glad this is cleared up." Sonic said sweetly.

But then Amy came along… "What do you want?" Sally asked.

"I came to say sorry…I didn't realize he was with you, and I'm sorry. And though I admit I find Sonic a really handsome, polite, kind and awesome person, it's clear that his heart belongs to you. I didn't want to drive you apart, you clearly belong together, and I hope you'll be happy together. Me and Lily will be going, so we won't bother you anymore." Amy said.

"Whoa, you're not going to leave like that? Just because of one stupid misunderstanding? That would be even stupider!" Sonic stated.

"Yeah, your archery skills are a nice addition to the team. And Lily's Extreme Gear skills are welcome, I mean a bunch of hoverboards might come in handy." Sally added, having put aside her grudge.

"Really? Oh, thanks! I promise I will be more careful with my affections next time. I'll be a good part of the team." She promised. The three were then silent for a while before Amy said: "Well…er…I'll leave you two be." She said as she left.

Amy met back up with her friend Lily. "So Princess Amy…did you enjoy your time with Sonic?" Lily asked, though it was difficult for her to pronounce Sonic's name.

"It was…up until I kissed him." Amy explained. Lily's world seem to collapse around her for a brief moment until Amy spoke up again: "But his heart was with Sally, that squirrel girl, and in my stupidity I almost broke such a wonderful couple apart. They have forgiven me and are back together. But I feel like such a bimbo!"

Lily calmed down, took a deep breath and did her best to comfort Amy: "Listen, sometimes people make mistakes, I can know…but you learn from them and come out stronger." She assured her.

"Yeah…but it's a shame, I really liked Sonic, he made me feel like an equal, rather than a superior." Amy said sadly.

"I'm sure everyone wants to treat you like one of them if you insist on it, Pri…I mean Amy!" Lily said, dropping the princess part to make her feel better. "Besides, you might never forget your first boy crush, but you'll find the true one someday. But after the trouble with boys, it's time you should be amongst other girls…" Lily said.

"You're right! Let's invite the other Freedom Fighter girls for…what's it called? A slumber party! It's the perfect way to get acquainted. I'll go invite them right away." Amy said as she rushed off.

"Princess Amy! Amy! Oh man, she's such a handful…but she's my handful." Lily muttered to herself as she followed Amy.

END OF CHAPTER


	14. Mirror, Mirror

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: MIRROR, MIRROR

Freedom HQ, a few days after Amy and Lily have joined the Freedom Fighters. Sally and Sonic finally told everyone about their relationship, but were surprised that no one was actually surprised by this. They knew it all along. Guess it was too obvious, except for Sonic and Sally themselves. But for now the heroes were at work, and Sally was going through some archives, searching for some clues towards the last Chaos Emerald.

"Hiya Sal!" Sonic moved over and sat down next to her. "Have I told you that you look stunning when you're concentrated?" he said, sounding smugger than usual.

"Sonic, that was corny even for your standards. And can we do this later? I'm busy." Sally said as she continued to check out all the archives.

"Who needs the paperwork, when you got me? Now don't be such a sourpuss and gimme a kiss…" Sonic said as he moved closer and puckered his lips, but Sally pushed him back.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, but you're not going to kiss me until you got your attitude in check again. Besides, I got way too much work." Sally said.

Sonic had an annoyed look on his face: "Fine, who needs you anyway? I'll be off then, but don't beg me to come back afterwards." He said as he left the room.

Sally found Sonic's behavior odd: "Did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something? There's something off about him…I'll worry about that later, but I hope he doesn't make the others miserable."

Lily and Amy were sparring at the gym. Amy was physically stronger and more skilled, but Lily was more agile due to her experience on a hoverboard, so they were quite matched. "Hey there gals! Looking good!" Sonic said, barging in on their training session.

"Er…hi Sonic." Amy said. Despite accepting Sonic dating Sally, her crush on him hasn't completely died out yet so she could still be nervous and blushing around Sonic. Lily has gotten over her jealousy of Sonic since she knew he wouldn't be going after Amy.

"You working out? You look hot, and I don't mean that from just all the training you've been doing…" Sonic stated. Amy now blushed heavily and Lily looked angry at that statement.

"Are you…trying to flirt around Amy?" Lily asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely ignored you. Never thought a girl in overalls of all people could look so good." Sonic said.

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" Lily said, completely uncaring towards Sonic's advances (and for a reason).

"Why are you here Sonic?" Amy asked, still blushing. Despite kind of liking the attention he gave her, she was suspicious as to why Sonic would do something like that.

"Oh Sally is being moody and I just needed some company, don't mind if I come here and work out with you, these muscles ask to get sweaty. You girls wanna see what I can do?" Sonic asked them.

"I'd rather not…So if you don't mind leaving me and Amy alone, there are still some moves that need perfecting." Lily said disgusted.

"I thought you girls would be more fun but no, all serious and stuck-up like Sally. But fine, I'll be going, but you'll be missing out on wonderful me, don't be jealous when the others are fawning over me." Sonic said as he left.

Amy felt uncomfortable: "Since when did Sonic turn from a gentleman into a rude womanizer?"

"I don't know, even if I didn't start off on the wrong foot with him, I knew he's normally not like this…shouldn't we be talking to Sally about this later." Lily replied.

"Fiona, hand me that screwdriver will you? The one with the purple handle!" Tails asked Fiona. Fiona and Tails were spending more time together, and Fiona often helped Tails with whatever engineering he was doing. Though she had little to no technical knowledge, she tried helping out wherever she could.

Tails tightened a few screws on Tori, who started giggling. "Tori, will you stop that, I can't concentrate." Tails asked.

"I'm sorry, but that tickles!" Tori said as Tails was tinkering on her design.

"I'm not going to get your submarine mode finished if you don't work with me." Tails said as he grabbed another component and prepared to install.

"Hey lil' bro, you and your girlfriend working on some stuff?" Sonic asked as he came on. "But oh right, you already said everyone you're just good friends right? Oh, then don't mind if I also get friendlier with Fiona, so she and I will also be good friends." Sonic said as he moved towards Fiona.

Tails and Fiona looked puzzled at him. "Er…did you get hit on the head or something, cause you seem a bit off." Tails asked.

"Hush, lil' bro, I wanna talk to the vixen." Sonic said as he leaned on the workbench and looked at Fiona: "So, why is a pretty girl like you making her hands dirty on a plane."

"I'm not just a plane, buster. And though I'm only a few weeks old, I'm aware that your behavior isn't exactly appropriate!" Tori shot at Sonic.

"Sorry to grind your gears, plane girl, but if you excuse me, I'm talking to a real girl over here and what a girl she is!" Sonic said, looking with a smug grin at Fiona, who took a few steps back.

"What would Sally say if she found you talking like that to me?" Fiona asked.

"Let's talk less about Sally and more about you, gorgeous!" Sonic said grinning.

Tails jumped in front of her: "I don't know what has gotten you but you need to stand down, and by the way, that's no way to talk a lady."

"Oh, so you two have something going on. Shame, but I hope you two will be very happy, at least until Fiona gets tired of waiting until you come of age or she turns to pedophilia. Later bro!" Sonic said as he left.

"I thought Sonic was a nice guy and now he's so rude!" Fiona said with a dirty look.

"I don't know Sonic this way…I hope that he snaps out of it, whatever it is." Tails added.

"I know he was rude and all, but are you still going to install that submarine in me or what? Cause I'm eager to test my torpedoes out on the blue spiky guy if he gets something in his head again." Tori added.

Muttski was in the cold storage, where some meat was stored. Though Muttski was a vegan, he can cook with meat to keep his friends well-fed. But as he entered the cold storage, he was surprised to see an unconscious Sonic lying there. "Sonic? But Muttski saw him leave Tails' workshop…no matter, Muttski needs to take him somewhere warm…" Muttski said surprised.

Muttski had taken Sonic to his kitchen, where he had wrapped Sonic in a blanket and given him warm soup. "T-t-thanks Muttski, I don't know how long I was in t-t-there but whoever d-d-did this w-w-will pay." Sonic groaned.

It was then that Sally came in the kitchen: "Hey Muttski, have you seen…SONIC! I need to have a word with you! The other Freedom Fighters have been complaining on how you are hitting on the female members, will you explain yourself mister?" Sally said as her anger rose.

"B-b-but I haven't spoken to anyone t-t-today, I woke up, got knocked out and ended up waking up in the c-c-cold storage." Sonic explained.

"Muttski can confirm, Muttski has found Sonic and judging by Sonic's state when Muttski found him, Sonic was in there for quite some time. Luckily Sonic's powers kept him warm enough to survive until Muttski found him." Muttski explained.

"Wait, if you were locked in the cold storage, then who has been hitting on all the girls? There's an imposter amongst us! I'll warn the others." Sally said as she grabbed Nicole's handheld, but before she did, she rushed over to Sonic and kissed him on the lips: "I'm glad it wasn't really you."

"I feel warmer all of the sudden." Sonic joked.

"Corny, but sweet…it's you all right." Sally said smiling. She then spoke to Nicole: "Nicole, access all security files to see if the imposter hasn't messed with anything, also check out the security footage and warn anyone about the doppelganger."

"Accessing…for now no security breach has been detected. The camera footage of the cold storage was messed with, it has been looped to avoid detection. I'm trying to get a fix on him…Oh no, he's moving towards the emerald vault!" Nicole stated.

"Then we need to move out quickly…warn the others!" Sally stated. Nicole did so as she sent a signal to the others.

Sonic meanwhile has removed his blanket, and has recovered enough using the warm soup and vibrated his molecules to warm himself up. "I'm warmed up again, now I need some sugar." He said, before Muttski handed him some candy. "Thanks Muttski, now let's go get that poser."

Meanwhile, the fake Sonic was at the emerald vault, having disabled the security around it, and now he only needed the combination of the vault. "If only I could have gotten all the blue chump's memories…then cracking this safe would be a lot easier." He moaned.

"Stop right there!" Tails said as he and Fiona, Amy and Lily arrived on the scene. "We know you're a fake, and we don't like it that you were so rude…" Tails added.

"No, I'm not the fake one, I managed to drive off the fake one! It's really me, Sonic!" the fake Sonic lied.

"Oh yeah, what's my middle name?" Tails asked.

"Er…it did start with an A, right?" Fake Sonic asked.

"You're the fake one, I don't have a middle name, and Sonic would know that!" Tails said as he rushed at the fake Sonic, slashed his chest with his tails, leaving two cut marks.

"Argh! You little…if I can't get the emeralds, I'll get something else. Out of the way!" the fake Sonic said as he rushed towards the door, knocking Tails and the girls over as he rushed off.

"Sally, the fake Sonic has rushed off, but Tails managed to leave some cuts on his chest, so now we can tell them apart, he's heading for the workshop!" Fiona said over the communicator.

The fake Sonic had returned to Tails' workshop, where he saw a few Power Rings lying around. "These will sustain me for now, I just hope those chumps don't catch up to me." He said as he absorbed their power. "That's enough Chaos Energy for one go, now to think of a more permanent solution." He said as he rushed out of the workshop.

But then the real Sonic appeared and pinned the fake one to a wall. The other Freedom Fighters caught up and surrounded him. "So you think you can knock me out, put me in the deep freeze, mess with my friends and try to steal the emeralds and not face the consequences?" Sonic asked.

"I could have tried." The fake Sonic said amused, not impressed by Sonic.

"Who are you, and where do you come from? Do you work for Eggman?" Sonic asked him.

"Me? Working for that oversized omelet? No thanks. I am a being created from Chaos Energy. When your little bro here purged the overdose of negative Chaos Energy from you when you went Super, it created me. I copied your appearance and powers, alongside some of your memories and gained an independent existence." The fake Sonic explained.

"That's why you need the Emeralds, you need Chaos energy to sustain yourself, since you're a being of pure energy that has nothing to attach itself to." Tails realized.

"Indeed, but you chumps are getting in my way. So if you now excuse me, move over!" the fake Sonic said as he kicked Sonic in the stomach and broke from his grip, before grabbing Sally and hold her in a chokehold. "Stand back or I'll hurt her!" But Sally wasn't defenseless as Sally used the heel of her boots to kick him in the go-nats. "Ouch! You bitch!" he said in a higher pitched tone before he let her go and rushed away.

"After him." Sally said as they gave chase to him.

Sonic the others chased the fake Sonic around the HQ and into the Great Forest, but Sonic finally managed to catch up with his counterpart and tackled him down to the ground and the two wrestled of sorts to the ground. "Listen, you don't have to do this, we're practically family. I just wanted some nice clean fun. That's all." Fake Sonic stated.

"Being made from negative Chaos Energy, showing disrespect for my friends and the girls…sure, you're a decent guy. Note the sarcasm!" Sonic replied.

"I am you, I am born from you, the negative chaos energy, your dna, your memories, the dark parts of your mind!" Fake Sonic stated. Sonic chuckled. "What so funny?"

"You, my dark side? Oh please, you know what my dark side is? When Eggman would finally push me over the edge that I would be out for blood, that I'd betray my own morals and actually kill someone on purpose…you are just a punk using my image cause you don't have one myself." Sonic replied.

"Me, just a punk? I'm much more than that and I'm gonna show you!" fake Sonic said as he kicked Sonic of him. Sonic recovered and rushed at the fake Sonic, who did the same. The two bumped into each other, trying to push each other aside by the shoulders while running.

Sonic and his fake broke apart as they both jumped up and tried to deliver punches and kicks towards each other, but they mimicked each other so the blows deflected one another. "Stop copying me!" they both said at the same time. They tried spin-dashing and homing in on one another, only to bounce of one another.

"You can't beat me, we both have the same powers, we both have the same moves. I just need to tire you out." Fake Sonic boasted.

"Indeed, you have all of my moves, but I've been working on some new moves after the Super Sonic incident." Sonic said as he used his superspeed, before launching a powerful kick, which fake Sonic dodged, but it cut the tree behind him and it fell on fake Sonic. Fake Sonic escaped however by spin-dashing through the tree.

"Cute, real cute, but it takes more than that to stop me!" fake Sonic boasted.

"Like this?" Sonic said as he jumped up, moved his feet in a figure eight on fake Sonic's face, leaving a mark, while pushing him back, before peeling out and knock fake Sonic across the forest.

"Okay, you got me there, but now I know these new tricks, you can't surprise me anymore, I can use them against you." fake Sonic said. He tried to copy Sonic's cutting kick, but as he sped up and tried to kick, he ended up tumbling through the air and fall on his back. "That one went bad, but I can do that peel-out thing and…" fake Sonic said as he tried the Peel-Out, but tripped over his own feet.

"Unlike you I had the time to practice those moves." Sonic stated.

"It still doesn't matter, I've seen you use the moves, I just need to think of a way to block them and…" fake Sonic ranted, as he suddenly looked tired. "Man, why am I feeling so weak all of a sudden?"

"You have copied my powers, but also all my weaknesses. You tire out too easily if you use your super speed too much and uncontrolled. You're low on sugar. I on the other hand have refilled." Sonic stated.

"You bastard! I'll get you!" fake Sonic said as he rushed at Sonic, who stepped aside, and fake Sonic couldn't stop in time as he saw a ledge, and fell into it, but managed to hold onto a branch that stuck out from the wall. He saw a large river under him, who was running so wild it's impossible to swim in.

"Give me your hand." Sonic said as he reached out his hand.

Fake Sonic wanted to take the hand at first, but slapped it aside. "I don't need any stinkin' help from you!" he said as he tried to climb up again himself, but he lost his grip and fell down. He had a huge sharp-toothed grin on his face as he fell down and vanished in the depth and the water. Sonic hung down his head.

"Sonic, there you are, you know how hard it is to catch up with you and your doppelganger?" Sally said as the other Freedom Fighters finally caught up. They saw Sonic at the edge, looking sad. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"He fell down, I tried to save him, but he refused…he didn't deserve to die, no matter how rotten he was." Sonic explained.

"You think he drowned? If he copied your DNA, he should sink like a brick in water…" Fiona asked.

"Besides, even if he can somehow swim, no living being can survive the fall and the wild cold water…" Tails added.

"He's no living being, he's an energy being…he has copied my need for sustenance to keep up my speed, but he's not organic. So I don't know if he really is gone. But why I feel guilty then?" Sonic replied.

"Because you have a heart." Sally said as she pecked him on the cheek. Sonic smiled a little more. "So, let us go home, we already have Eggman to worry about, let's not worry about that fake you." Sally said as she helped Sonic stand up.

"Even if he comes back, I'll be ready for him." Sonic stated as he and his friends went home.

But somewhere further ahead at the river, on the riverbank, the fake Sonic crawled out of the water, coughing wildly and spitting out some water, while pulling a fish from his ear. "That chump…defeated me…but I'll get back at him…next time, I'll make things really miserable for him, I'll be a real…scourge." He said before he fainted on the riverbank.

A tall cloaked figure with approached the unconscious hedgehog and said: "Interesting, I sense he is a being composed of pure Chaos Energy. He might come in handy." A brown furred hand reached from under the cape and touched the forehead of the fake Sonic, leaving some kind of glowing green mark. He then picked him up. "Welcome to my covenant, young hedgehog!" he said as he dragged the hedgehog of with him.

END OF CHAPTER


	15. Miracle Planet I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: MIRACLE PLANET, PART I

Eggman was busy tinkering on his newest invention. He had just put aside the welding torch and admired his work. "A true work of art, only a genius could have done this…oh wait, that's me!" he said, boastful about himself and his machine.

The three generals came inside his workshop: "Sir, you have called for us? You wanted to brag about your newest McGuffin that would put up a show before getting scrapped by the Freedom Fighters?" Crabmeat stated.

Eggman groaned as he replied: "No, this machine will forever put an end to the Freedom Fighters. Behold, the newest Prototype of the Metallix unit!" Eggman uncovered something robotic that was vaguely Mobian in shape and size, but it was 'blank' so to speak as it had no distinguishable features to say what species. It had sharp claws, a spike for a nose, black optics and a hole in its chest, which was actually part of an engine.

"Oh, is it a snow machine? I love snow, rolling around in it, making snowangels, snowball fights, how mad Crabmeat gets when I toss one at him, making a snowman…" Buzzbomber asked, being the idiot it is.

"No you dolt, this Metallix unit is designed to copy the data of a single organism, taking on their power and shape, only better. Observe!" Eggman said as he took out a chip, opened up the head of the Metallix Unit and inserted the chip. He then closed it.

The Metallix had lines of light travel around his body, changing his color from grey to blue, his optics gained a red iris, he grew metal spines, and his design now looked very familiar: it looked like a robot version of Sonic. "In that chip was all the info I have gathered about Sonic, courtesy of the Silver Sonic unit." Eggman explained.

The Sonic Metallix crossed his arms before rubbing his thumb past his nose, after which he tapped with the tip of his left foot on the floor before he started stretching. "Remarkable! He's copied not only Sonic's powers, but also his mannerisms." Slicer noted.

"Indeed, that way he knows how Sonic thinks, what he'll do before even he does it, made to match him in every way. It took a while before I could perfect the Metallix unit, but this Sonic Metallix shows at least the copy program works. Now to put it to the test against the Freedom Fighters themselves. Once it proves itself, I can start mass-producing the Metallix, and they'll take over for the Badnik suits, while I use the organic counterparts inside as fuel." Eggman explained.

"Well, how are you planning on luring out the Freedom Fighters then? Taking a megaphone and shout: 'Hey Freedom Freaks, I got this new Metallix to fight you, show up if you dare, pussies!' That will work." Crabmeat said sarcastically. Eggman grabbed his remote and shocked Crabmeat for his big mouth.

"Now he's shut his mandibles…the Freedom Fighters won't sit still. They'll search for the next emerald or try another useless guerilla attack on my factories, they'll need to come out eventually. I have eyes and ears everywhere, I know when they'll strike, and I'll just strike back." Eggman said as he augmented his glasses.

"Aunt Sally, Sonic!" Tails said as he turned to his big bro and said girlfriend. He had a book in his hands. "I think I know where the next Chaos Emerald can be…they don't state it's an emerald but it might as well be since they talk about a mystic gem…" Tails explained.

"Slow down bro, nice you got a clue, but where is it?" Sonic asked.

"Miracle Planet, the little satellite that appears above Miracle Lake every month for one day, and tomorrow it'll appear, we need to take that chance!" Tails explained.

"Tails, once again you save us with your good thinking. We need to ready the Freedom Fighters, we're going on a trip!" Sally said.

Nicole was inside her cyber realm, her lynx-like avatar floating around in Lotus position, concentrating. She opened her eyes and reached out her hands and made pillars rise from the floor of her digital space, before she waved her hands around again to break them apart, and reformed the shards into humanoid programs. The programs rushed at her, but Nicole formed data streams in her hand and blasted them, deleting them.

More programs came to take their place, and this time they were more numerous. Nicole found herself surrounded, but concentrated, her avatar body glowed and let out a wave of data that swiped all the programs away and deleted them. "Nicole, you in there?" Sally's voice asked. "Nicole brought up a screen to see Sally's face, which was the way she saw the outside world. "You still training?" she asked.

"I couldn't hack the Wing Fortress fast enough last time so I'm trying to exploit my newfound abilities to the maximum. We don't want to repeat what happened last time, so I need to become better if we are to face another super weapon in the future." Nicole explained.

"You blame yourself for that?" Sally asked.

"I'm a digital being now, but my mind and soul is still in here, and I'm just a Mobian at heart after all, with the flaws that come with it. But I can't let them get in the way of doing what's right. Next time, I'll fight to win." Nicole answered.

"We all will. But just so you'd know, no one blamed you. No one is to blame but fate itself." Sally assured Nicole. Nicole didn't say anything on that, but just continued her training.

"Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?"

"No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?"

"No!" "Are we there yet?" "NO!" that has been going on for the entire trip, Muttski impatiently asking if they're there yet, while the other Freedom Fighter had to shut him up the entire time. "Are we there yet?" "Yes!" Sonic was glad he could finally say that to Muttski as they finally reached Miracle Lake.

The lake was beautiful and looked surprisingly clean and the heroes were surprised that Eggman didn't pollute it yet. "I'm glad to see clean water for once…" Sally said happily.

"Thank goodness for magic lakes, stay pollution free." Sonic added.

"Okay, according to my calculations it should appear right about…" Tails said as he looked in the sky, and indeed, coming into existence slowly, first transparent but then fully solid, a small planet hovered above the lake. "…now!" Tails finished.

"That's great and all, but how do we get up there?" Sonic asked.

"With this…" Tails said as he pulled out a Power Ring. "I managed to study the signature of the Eternity Rings, and by tweaking it I can imprint part of it onto a Power Ring, creating a Warp Ring! It's not perfected yet and we can only travel limited distances, but it works well enough to get us to the surface of Miracle Planet."

"Tails…you're a genius!" Sonic stated.

"It's nothing…Uncle Chuck's files actually helped on this." Tails said as he tossed the Warp Ring in the air and it started to grow and create portal. "Coming through? Don't be afraid, I've tested them! Just go through one at the time okay?" Tails said, and with that the Freedom Fighters went through the warp ring.

"Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "NO! Walkerdamnit, Buzzbomber, no matter how many times you'll say it, we won't get there any faster!" Crabmeat groaned.

"We're here…Miracle Planet! So that's where the Freedom Fighters went." Eggman said as he and his generals arrived near Miracle Lake. "If I wasn't so busy conquering Mobius, I would have conquered Miracle Planet long ago, but at least I get the chance to see what the mystic gem that hides on Miracle Planet actually is." Eggman said delighted.

"As long as I don't need to hear Buzzbomber's nagging anymore." Crabmeat groaned. Grabber, in Crabmeat's head had other plans: "Are we there yet?" "Goddamnit Grabber! Doc, can't you pull my brother out of my head?" Crabmeat said frustrated.

"No! I'm having too much fun." Eggman stated. Crabmeat groaned in the background. Eggman was in his Eggmobile, Metallix, and Buzzbomber could fly and Slicer and Crabmeat were carried off by the saucer-shaped robots Eggman has brought along for the trip, they too heading for Miracle Planet.

On Miracle Planets, our friends warped inside a village on the little planet, somewhere in the tropical part called the Palmtree Zone. The villagers looked up weird at the sight of our heroes showing up. "Er…hi?" Sonic greeted.

The villagers surrounded them, looking at them funny. "Listen, we are the Freedom Fighters, we come in peace. We're not here to disturb the peace, we just are looking for something. Something to help us win the war that has been going on on Mobius." Sally explained.

"Yeah, I know you've probably come to this place to flee from the war, but it doesn't mean Eggman will ignore you forever, so all we want to ask, do you of any mystic gem that happens to be around this place?" Sonic asked.

The villagers looked at one another, and started whispering amongst themselves. "How do we know you say who you say you are?" one of them asked.

"I can vouch for that." Another voice said from the crowd. Someone stepped out, a Mobian squirrel woman who looked a lot like Sally herself, only older. She stepped towards Sally and looked her in her eyes: "Sally, is that you?" she asked.

Sally immediately realized it who the woman was who talked to her: "Mom?" she asked. The woman nodded as Sally hugged her mother tightly, tears in her eyes. "Oh mom, I would never have guessed to find you here…" she said.

"It's okay…oh my gosh what a beautiful woman you've become. And you're part of this group right?" Sally's mother said as he noticed the other Freedom Fighters.

"Yes, we've been fighting against Eggman's tyranny for a long time and…that can wait, I've not seen you since dad took me away from you and…" Sally said, but she recomposed herself: "Well, these are my friends: Bunnie, Antoine, Muttski, Rotor, Amy, Lily, Fiona and Tails. This is Nicole…yeah she's a computer but that's a long story…and finally, my boyfriend Sonic." Sally introduced.

"It's a honor meeting you Ms. Sally's mom, and I can see from who Sally got her good looks." Sonic greeted politely as he kissed her hand.

"Oh just call me Alicia. You got yourself quite the catch, my daughter. So handsome and polite. You must be one lucky girl." Sally's mom complimented.

"I am…oh, I really want to catch up, but too bad I'm on a mission and…" Sally said excited.

"You catch up with your mother, the rest of us will look for that mystic gem." Amy assured Sally.

"Yeah, we'll be fine, you waited a long time for this. We got it covered Sal!" Sonic stated.

"Oh thank you, you're the best of friends!" Sally said. She and her mom left to catch up.

The other villagers were still staring, so Sonic broke the silence: "You've heard the woman, we're good people! There's nothing to see so move on!" the villagers went back to their daily lives just like that. Sonic then turned to the other Freedom Fighters: "Okay let's split up and explore the Zones of this planet, ask around, leave no stone unturned, we'll find the gem, okay?" Sonic said. If he was thinking straight, he could fill in the leader position for Sally rather well. The Freedom Fighters agreed as they moved out to check out the planet.

Alicia has led her daughter to where she lived, a simple house that didn't look any different from the others, but it looked nice. "Er…nice place you have here." Sally said.

"It's not much, but it's home." Alicia said as she let her daughter in. They sat down in the living room as Alicia made some tea. "So, you probably wonder how I ended up here?" she asked. Sally nodded. Alicia sighed and started telling: "You must know I used to love your father when we married and when we had you…but he was a busy man and he started neglecting me. I was in need for affection, and since he couldn't give it to me…"

"You went with someone else." Sally finished, Alicia nodded. "It's not your fault, he's been neglectful to you and he has been to me all the time as well."

"Yes, but your father didn't take kindly to that. He's not the one to admit mistakes. He had connections, powerful ones, and he used them to make sure I wouldn't be able to get to you again, no matter how much I fought. It broke my heart that I couldn't get to you…" Alicia said as she nearly started to cry.

"I'm here now mom, please don't cry!" Sally said as she wrapped her arm around her mother.

Alicia recomposed herself again: "You must know I tried everything to get to see you again, but your dad wasn't making it any easier for me. But when the day of Namgge's invasion came, it was said everyone on South Island was captured, and I thought I lost you…so I fled here, trying to flee from it all. If I had known you were alive I'd…"

"It's okay mom, I'm here now." Sally said, comforting her mother. They then heard someone unlocking a door and coming in. "Oh, you have visitors?" Sally asked.

"Honey, I'm home!" a voice said. A male Mobian ferret came into the living room. He had neatly combed black hair and wore glasses. He had a young squirrel boy, about eight next to him. He looked surprised as he saw both Sally and Alicia. "Is there something wrong with my glasses? I'm seeing double!"

"Sweetheart, this is Sally. My daughter…that Sally?" Alicia introduced her.

"Holy Walkers. Is it true? Oh, Alicia told me a lot about you, at least what she could remember. It's good you're here, cause my wife carries a lot of mental scars. I'm Isaac , you mom's husband. I hope we'll get along." Isaac said as he shook Sally's hand.

The squirrel boy, who was hiding behind Isaac, peeked from behind him to look at Sally. "Oh, there's something else you need to know Sally. You're a sister. This is your little brother, Elias." Alicia explained to Sally. "Don't be shy Elias and say hello to your sister." She said to the squirrel boy.

Elias shyly came from behind Isaac. He looked her right in the eyes. "So…you're my sister?" he asked.

"Yeah…half actually, I have a different daddy then you." Sally said, a bit nervous herself.

"Your daddy is a bad man, mommy told me. He didn't let mommy see you." Elias said. Sally was silent. "Mommy said there is a bad man on the surface who uses his robots to hurt people. You fight that man?" Elias asked.

"Yes, me and my friends." Sally answered.

"Cool!" Elias said.

Sonic was wandering through a pink and blue forest like Zone. With his speed he tried to cover the entire forest area. "Nothing here, no secret passages, no fake stumps…Guess it's not here." Sonic thought as he rushed through the zone. However, the blue blur was surprised when another blue blur came and tackled him down to the ground. "What? Is the fake me back?" Sonic wondered. But it was not the Fake Sonic…

It was the Metallix. "Oh great, did Eggman make another robot modeled after me? Talk about being uncreative. How does he call you…Robo Sonic, Mecha Sonic, Metal Sonic?" Sonic asked, but the Metallix just rubbed his thumb past his nose, just like Sonic tended to do. "Not much of a talker…Whatever your name is, I don't like being ripped off. So you better step aside before I make scrap out of you, just like I did to your 'big' brother Silver Sonic." Sonic said. Metallix just made a gesture with his hand that obviously meant: "Bring it on!"

"You wanna fight, you got a fight!" Sonic said as he rushed at the Metallix. The Metallix rushed at him too. Sonic curled up into a ball and tried spin-dashing into him, but the Metallix charged up with an electric aura and boosted into Sonic, knocking him out of the air. "Argh! Tough one, aren't you? Take this!" Sonic tried his axe kick, but the Metallix dodged, before he launched his own axe kick, which Sonic dodged but the Axe Kick cut through multiple trees, showing it to be very powerful.

"Okay, you know all my moves, but I don't rely on my speed alone!" Sonic said as he launched a punch at Metallix, who caught the punch, after which Sonic tried to kick him, only to get his foot caught as well as Metallix picked him up and threw him into a tree, hurting Sonic. Metallix turned his back on Sonic and slapped his metallic behind, taunting Sonic. "So Eggman gave you my moves, my speed and my personality, that's just insulting, can't anyone thing of anything original anymore these days?" Sonic moaned. Metallix looked menacingly at Sonic as he cracked his metallic knuckles.

Amy and Lily were at some aquatic ruins. "This place doesn't look very sanitary." Lily moaned.

"Stop being such a worry-wart Lily, we got other things to worry about then breaking some nails." Amy stated. However, soon they saw several Egg Saucers arrive on the scene, turrets ready as the bottoms opened up and deployed some Spikes.

Crabmeat has joined these Spikes. "Hello! You new on the Freedom Fighters? Your teammates must have told about me. Crabmeat's the name, and I see some wings and spines to be clipped."

"We've heard about you. Sonic said you're a lying, cheating, treacherous, filthy, backstabbing arrogant bucket of bolts." Amy replied.

"You wench! I'm not filthy! I took a bath last week!" Crabmeat growled.

"Er…Princess, I don't think it's wise to piss off the giant crab robot with an army or bots at his side." Lily moaned.

"I don't care! We can take them. We are warriors. Let's make crab salad." Amy said as she took bow and arrow and aimed at Crabmeat, who started to laugh.

"Foolish girl, I'm made of metal. You think your puny arrows can penetrate me?" Crabmeat laughed. But he didn't laugh when one arrow pierced his knees. "Argh, that is not a normal arrow!"

"Of course they're not. My friend Ebony created them, they're mystical in nature. They can pierce any non-Chaos based material easily." Amy explained.

"Oh crab!" Crabmeat moaned. The saucers started firing at Amy and Lily, who dodged as Amy readied more arrows to fire as Lily jumped on her hoverboard and pulled out more feather darts. They were ready to scrap some.

Muttski, Rotor and Antoine were inside some quartz mines. But they were soon ambushed by a bunch of Egg saucers, Asterons and Slicer. "Greetings Freedom Fighters. How queer to see you again. I see Sally and Sonic aren't here, but maybe one of you want to amuse me?" Slicer said.

"You look for an opponent. Choissis-moi!" Antoine said as he pulled out his sword. "As you know, I am quite skilled with ze saber. Let us clash ze blades!"

"Very well. My associates will make sure your friends are not bored. Let us have a clean honorable fight of blades, a fight I'll remember." Slicer replied.

Bunnie was using her jet boosters in her legs to float over a canyon of sorts. "Nothin' here at first sight, but ah might look closer at sum' of those odd rock formations." She said as she floated closer inside the canyon. She then got hit by a projectile and knocked out of the sky, but managed to regain flight just in time. "What in the…" she asked. She looked down and saw Coconuts with several larger gorilla-like robots (Saruders) and Egg Saucers at his side.

"Well aren'tcha Eggman's pet monkey? Ah never hoped to see your ugly mug, but ah won't hold my punches just because you're so puny. No Eggman Bot shall ever take me down!" Bunnie said as she morphed her hands to guns. Coconuts grinned as he hooted and ordered the Saruders and Egg Saucers to attack.

Tails and Fiona, the former carrying Nicole's handheld were travelling around some ruins, which had architecture which reminded them of musical instruments. "My Chaos scanner is going wild…it's no emerald, but whatever it is, it's still powerful." Tails explained.

It was then that they heard some buzzing in the air. Buzzbomber alongside several Buzzers and Egg Saucers arrived on the scene. "Who is that buzz-o?" Fiona asked.

"Buzzbomber. He's not too bright, but he's dangerous all right. I guess Eggman is after the same thing as we are. I guess we need to prepare to fight." Tails said.

"And I thought this day would be boring." Fiona said as she pulled some daggers out.

Sally and her family were enjoying themselves, they had a good conversation with a cup of tea and some scones. "And then he said to me that he had loved me since the day we met." Sally finished her story on how she and Sonic finally admitted they loved one another.

"That's so sweet. That reminds me little Elias is blushing every time the baker's daughter…Megan I think, is nearby." Elias said amused.

"No I'm not!" Elias said as he blushed.

It was then they heard some screaming outside. They outside to check it out, seeing several Egg Saucers and Kama-Kama's attack the Palmtree Zone, which was now in severe Panic. "Duty calls…you stay back, I'll deal with them!" Sally said as she pulled out her tonfa.

"Go get them, sis!" Elias cheered as Sally rushed at the Eggman robots and started scrapping them.

END OF CHAPTER


	16. Miracle Planet II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: MIRACLE PLANET, PART II

Sonic was still locked in combat with his mechanical counterpart, who could use all of his moves, only better and was stronger than him. Not to mention it had his attitude, only more annoying. He just had kicked out blue hero to the ground as he started to make a strange shaking gesture, as if it was laughing. "Oh, you think that's funny?" Sonic growled as he picked himself up and punched Metallix in the face, making it stagger, but not really scratching him.

Sonic held his fist in pain, as he just had punched a being made of metal. Metallix chuckled again. "Stop laughing!" Sonic bit at him, but the Metallix didn't stop. Sonic then spin-dashed into him, pushing him back, and while he was scratched, he didn't take as much damage a normal Eggman robot would.

The Metallix was still laughing, and Sonic was fuming…he was used to having the upper hand in the fight, as no one but the fake him ever matched his speed and still Sonic managed to outwit him. "STOP IT!" Sonic said as he pinned the Metallix down the ground and started punching away, this time feeling no pain as he clobbered on the mechanical face and started breaking pieces of it.

When the head of the Metallix was just scrap, Sonic saw his reflection in some coolant that has leaked from the head of the now broken Metallix: he saw his eyes were red and his teeth were sharp, just like when he was Super Sonic. Sonic jumped back startled as he thought: "What's happening to me?" he crawled back to the puddle and saw his eyes and teeth were back to normal, and he was relieved. But he had seen now that the demon still existed within him.

He sat down on a tree stump, hoping to clear his mind, only to be surprised he fell right through it and slid down a tunnel…meanwhile the broken head of Metallix started to move as it's optic sensors glowed…but Sonic came down in an underground temple of sorts, and he saw a gemstone lying on a pedestal in the room further ahead. "Is it the Chaos Emerald?" Sonic wondered as he sped towards it.

Several traps activated, like swinging axes, poison darts and trap pits, but Sonic easily avoided them using his skills and speed and reached the gem in time. However, upon closer look Sonic found it to not look like a Chaos Emerald at all. It was as small as an Emerald but it had a hexagon shape, instead of the brilliant cut the Emeralds had. Sonic took the gem and used a scanner built in his gauntlets. "Tails or Nicole need to take a look at this later on…" he thought.

But Sonic was caught by surprise when the Metallix, face still broken but relatively active tackled him down to the ground and snatched the gem. "What, you still active?" Sonic asked. The Metallix simply nodded, before he waved the gemstone around as a matter of taunt. "Okay, this time I'm going to scrap you." Sonic growled as he charged at Metallix.

Lily was being chased by some Egg Saucers. They fired at her. Lily ducked under the first few shots, jumped of her board to dodge the next few ones and back on, before tossing her feather darts at them, which embedded themselves in their metallic shells before exploding. Several more appear to chase her. Lily found herself out of darts so she did some heavy maneuvering down in the hallways of the aquatic ruins, which the saucers couldn't keep up with, as they crashed into some walls or each other while doing so. Lily wiped the sweat of her forehead as she moaned: "I sometimes wished I've stayed at Mercia."

Amy fired arrow after arrow at the Spikes, penetrating them as they fell down motionlessly. But Crabmeat stood there at the side, gloating: "Foolish girl, eventually you'll run out of arrows and then you'll be defenseless."

"I'm not defenseless without arrows!" Amy said as she whacked a few spikes with her bow, knocking bodyparts off. "Also, like my bow, my quiver is enchanted as well." Amy said as she pointed at her back, as the arrows she'd fired disappear and reappear in the quiver. "I can do this as long as I need to!" Amy said as she took aim at Crabmeat. "And I never miss!"

"We'll see about…" Crabmeat said as he saw the arrow aimed at him, and tried moving to the side but Amy didn't aim at Crabmeat, but at where he was going to be and Crabmeat was hit in his lower abdomen. "Argh!" Crabmeat saw oil leaking. He aimed his scissors, ready to fire, but in his head, Grabber warned him: "You're leaking oil, fire one fireball and a spark can lit you up!" Crabmeat groaned as he decided to move in and go melee.

Amy jumped over Crabmeat's claw swipe, stepped on his face, jumped off, kicked off the wall and fired another arrow in Crabmeat's back. "Argh!" Crabmeat said as he was on his knees. He growled at her before he said: "you're getting off easy, but I'll be back and I'll shove that bow and arrow right up your…"

"Watch your language!" Amy stated.

"Whatever!" Crabmeat said as he jumped onto a surviving Egg Saucer and flew off. "Is it just me, or are you getting sloppier since the Wing Fortress incident?" Grabber asked. "SHUT UP!"

Muttski was dealing with some Asterons, who swiped at him with swords, but he agilly dodged, before kicking the swords out of their hands, just right before he said: "Pull Muttski's finger!" as he held out his index finger. The Asterons were confused, but one of them pulled Muttski's finger out of curiosity…WHAM! Muttski had pulled out a boxing glove on a spring and used it to floor the Asterons. "Be glad Muttski didn't ask to rub his belly!"

Rotor launched several missiles from his missile launcher at the Egg Saucers, dealing with them rather quickly, until the Asterons moved in. He tossed a bomb at the first group, of which one of them sliced the bomb in half. But the both halves of the bombs still exploded and scrapped the Asterons. A second group moved in, as Rotor pulled out a tiny weapon, which sprayed them into some sticky stuff, which they tried to remove, but couldn't, before the stuff exploded. "Plastic explosive dispenser, a demo man's best friend!"

Antoine was blocking swiped from Slicer's blades with his own swords, as he tried to move in a few swipes as well, but Slicer blocked them with his own blades. Antoine jumped back as he dodged another swipe, then ran towards and kicked of a tree before launching a jumping downward slash, which Slicer needed to block with both his blades, as he was forced onto his knees. He managed to push Antoine off, but saw his troops were defeated by the rest. "Great skills, swordsman! Let's call it a draw, until next time." He said as he left on the back of a surviving Egg Saucer.

Bunnie dodged the coconut projectiles as she blasted away at the Saruders, scrapping the gorilla bots before she blasted away at the Egg Saucers, shooting them out of the sky before they could do the same for her. However, after destroying those robots she felt drained and needed to land and continue the fight on the ground.

After using her physical strength to trash the remaining Saruders. However, Coconuts snuck up on her, grabbed his cymbals and slammed them in the sides of her head, dazing her. Coconuts then tried slashing her using his cymbals, but Bunnie regained her senses in time as she caught them in her hands. "You cheatin' lil' monkey!" Coconuts made them spin around rapidly, so Bunnie's hands overheated as she was forced to let go.

Bunnie moved backwards as she was forced to dodge the razor-sharp cymbals of Coconuts. But she struck back with a powerful punch, forcing Coconuts to block with his cymbals, as she pelted him with more punches, pushing him back against a wall of the cliffs. Then she gathered all her remaining energy in one big punch and Coconuts was pushed backwards with great force in the wall, leaving an imprint and some cracks.

Coconuts crawled out dazed, his dented cymbals in hand as Bunnie readied her cybernetic foot and gave him one kick to his behind that sent him flying over the horizon. "Good riddance!" she said as she sat down on a rock to rest.

Tails flew up in the air and just punched, kicks or sliced at the Buzzers and saucers. Fiona just climbed up some ruin walls, and then jumped on top of an Egg Saucer, ripped open the top and pulled out a tiny robot who controlled the saucer. Fiona threw the tiny bot away as she took control of the vessel as she blasted away at the saucers and Buzzers.

Buzzbomber charged at Tails, who was momentarily distracted by a group of Buzzers, as he grabbed him from behind in a bear hug. "Gotcha!" he buzzed happily, but didn't realize Tails' namesakes were still free and used them to slice of his arms and break himself free. "No, not the arms! Those are the hardest to replace!"

"Then send me a bill!" Tails said as he whacked Buzzbomber out of the air with his tails, sending him flying towards the ground and crashing.

Buzzbomber got up and groaned as he shouted: "I hate you two-tailed flying fox thingy!" But then the ground under Buzzbomber cracked open as two blue blurs shot from the ground, knocked Buzzbomber aside, who got stuck with his head in the wall. "Why does the universe hate me so much?" the bee robot asked sadly.

The blue blur was revealed to be Sonic who was wrestling with Metallix, who was trying to prevent Sonic from getting his hands on the gem. "That gem doesn't belong to Eggman so hand it over!" Sonic shouted, but Metallix pushed him off and grabbed his throat, lifting him off the ground. Metallix slowly started choking Sonic…

But then Tails swooped down, snatched the gem and whacked Metallix with his tails, making him let go of Sonic, while Fiona swooped in with her stolen Egg Saucer and blasted away at the Metallix. The Metallix wasn't equipped with defenses against Tails and Fiona so it used it's jet engine to fly away, running from the fight.

"You okay Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Peachy…but not really. I got my butt kicked by a robot who knew all of my moves and tricks. It was like fighting myself, but the other me was a robot…that's not the point. I nearly unleashed Super Sonic again during my fight with him, but I barely managed to restrain it." Sonic answered.

"But Tails purged the negative energy from you!" Fiona stated.

"May be, but there is some of him left in me, and it appears that if I get mad or stressed, it comes out. I really need to watch my temper in the future…" Sonic said.

"I'll try to work on something to contain it later…but that robot copy of yours brought this gem along…is this what my scanners picked up? It's definitely a gem, but it doesn't look like a Chaos Emerald." Tails said.

"My scans indicate that it's made from the same components as a Chaos Emerald, but there is higher amounts of quartz in this beryl…I guess it's a Time Stone. I've found some files about it on Charles' files, but those files only have limited information." Nicole stated.

"Time Stones? What do these do? Tell you when it's time to lunch?" Sonic asked.

"They allow limited control over time, a single one can slow down or speed up time, while multiple even allow time-travel. No wonder they hid it on this little planet, these things are as dangerous as the Emeralds." Nicole explained.

"Then it's a good thing that we prevented the metal-headed copycat from taking it." Sonic stated. However, as if on cue, the Metallix reappeared, swooped in and grabbed the Time Stone from them "Get back here!" Sonic said as he rushed after the Metallix. Tails and Fiona also gave chase.

Buzzbomber pulled himself from the wall or at least his body, his head was still stuck. His headless body felt in the empty space that used to be his head, before reaching in the wall, pulling his head out and putting it back on his shoulders. "Now I'll show you wha…where did everybody go?"

Sally was around the Palmtree Village scrapping Kama-Kama's with her tonfa. Several Egg Saucers flew in and fired away at her, but she spins her tonfa around real fast to deflect the attacks. She climbs on top of a roof and jumps up a saucer, combined her tonfas into a spear and stabbed it, jumping to the next and repeating this.

She disposed of the saucers and moved to the ground, where she fought some more Kama-Kama's. She swiped her spear around in a circle motion, slashing a bunch of robots who were around her in a circle apart.

"Yeah! Get them sis!" Elias said excited from inside the house as he watched out the window to see the fight. Sally finished it off when she puts a power ring on her spear, and she planted the spear into the ground, sending off a surge of electricity that shocked all the robots in the area, frying their systems and shutting them down.

"Oof, I'm glad that's over with…" Sally thought. However, it was then that Metallix came onto the scene, the Time Stone in his hands. Giving him chase was Sonic, Tails and Fiona. The Metallix came into Sally's direction, so she whacked it with her spear, making it drop the Time Stone, which Sonic picked up.

"Thanks Sal, this copycat's been giving us some trouble. It appears the gem we were looking for is called a Time Stone. Chaos Emerald or not, we can't let Egghead have it." Sonic said.

It was then that the Metallix picked himself up again. "Look who is still alive and kicking…oh, by the way, have you met my friends?" Sonic said to his doppelganger as Tails, Fiona and Sally stood beside him in a battle pose. Metallix wouldn't be able to handle them all so he wanted to turn around and run, only to see Amy, Lily, Muttski, Rotor, Antoine and Bunnie arrive on the scene as well.

"You 'aving trouble with a look-a-like, non?" Antoine said as he pointed his sword at it.

"Trouble's kind of a big word, more of an annoyance, which we'll deal with right now!" Sonic said as they gathered around the Metallix, who looked like he was in panic, mostly because he was outnumbered.

However, the heroes heard some kind of sound in the air, as they saw a laser blast heading towards them, as they jumped aside and dodged, Sonic dropping the Time Stone in the confusion. Metallix picked it up as it jumped up and landed right on top of what saved him: the Egg-Mobile, with said Eggman himself behind the wheel. "Greetings Sonic, I see you and your friends have met my newest model or combat robot, the Metallix unit? For now I only have one, but seeing what it can do, wouldn't it be glorious to have an army, augmented with the skills and powers of the Freedom Fighters?" Eggman said.

"Whatever you're going to do, we won't let you get away with it!" Sonic said.

"Oh please, if I got a dime for every time I heard that, I'd be rich. I'm getting away with it! You know why? Because the game ends here. With the Power of this Time Stone, I'll rewrite history and become the unopposed ruler of this world!" Eggman boasted.

"What prevents us from stopping you?" Sally asked.

"Oh…good question. How about that?" Eggman said as he pointed to the sky, as the clouds vanished and a huge egg-shaped flying object casted a shadow above Miracle Planet. "Meet the Death Egg, my true ultimate weapon…"

"True ultimate…the Wing Fortress was a decoy! He wanted to give us the feeling we were winning so we'd never see this one coming!" Tails realized.

"Well guessed, two-tailed fox. Now I see why you're the brains. Too bad I'll erase you from history once my machine is done harnessing the power of this Time Stone. All of you actually. And in the new timeline, Miracle Planet won't be free of my reign any longer. So, say goodbye!" Eggman said as he and the Metallix fled on the Eggmobile.

"Oh no you won't!" Sonic said as he wanted to give chase, but Eggman produced a smokescreen from his Eggmobile, blinding and halting Sonic as he fled.

"He's getting away! We can't let him use that weapon!" Sally said.

"But how? I don't know if the Warp Ring can bring us all the way up there, Eggman might have upgraded that thing with a Chaos-based Power source to prevent us from entering. And Tori can't fly fast enough to reach this place in time." Tails stated.

"I can help!" Isaac said, having arrived on the scene with Alicia and Elias. "You see, these villagers came to Miracle Planet in an airship, and it's still active. I'm actually in charge of maintenance. It can help you reach that giant flying station."

"Then what are we standing here around for? Let's go get it!" Sonic said as they rushed towards the hangar where it was stored.

The Freedom Fighters boarded the ship, ready to set off, Tails behind the wheel and Nicole plugged in to give support and scan the vehicle so Tails could gain additional info on flying it. "Sally, I want to say 'please be safe', but the job of a Freedom Fighter isn't like that, is it?" Alicia said to her daughter.

"Unfortunately, it is. But we're going to come back alive. I have found my family, I have a reason to live for, so I have to survive." Sally stated.

"Sally, ever since your mom told me about you, I wanted to meet you someday. To see how wonderful someone descending from your mother could be. I can safely say you exceeded my expectations. It's surprising how quickly I grew fond of you…you're like the daughter I never had." Isaac added.

"You have a daughter now, and she's fighting for you all." Sally assured Isaac.

"Sis, if we make it out in one piece, I want to grow up to be just like you! I want to help people and fight that big oaf!" Elias said to her.

Sally sighed and smiled: "You're very brave for your age. But a word of advice, be a hero like you are, not like I am. You're your own person Elias!" Sally assured her. Sally gave her family one big group hug before she went aboard, but not before she quickly said: "I'll be back, you can be sure of that."

Aboard the airship, which was ready to take off, Sonic looked twitchy, and ready for action. "You seem so nervous, sugah-hog." Bunnie said.

"Really? I didn't notice, it's not like the fate of the worlds rests on our shoulders, oh wait…yes it is!" Sonic said.

"You're not really in a good mood, are you?" Rotor asked.

"I got my butt kicked by a mechanical doppelganger, it appears the demon inside me isn't gone and we're facing a giant flying space station that makes the flying fortress look like a paper airplane. Of course I'm tense!" Sonic stated.

"But this time we don't have the Chaos Emeralds on our side…" Fiona said.

"Oh yes we have!" Tails said as he pulled out a small box, opened it up and showed the emeralds.

"You brought them along? But you know what these things can do to me?" Sonic asked.

"I have something else…count the emeralds." Tails said.

Sonic counted the emeralds: "There are seven…but how?"

"I created a fake Emerald, I used your uncle's files, and I continued where he left off. The problem is, I haven't tested it. There is one chance on three it'll work." Tails explained.

"What are the other two out of three?" Sonic asked.

"Either the Emerald will blow up, or you'll revert back into…you know who." Tails answered.

Sonic sighed. "Even if the Emeralds will be enough, will I be able to control myself? I don't want to hurt you again." Sonic said sadly. But then he felt Sally's hand on top of his.

"I know I can't ask you not to use them, as you would be doing what you want anyway. But now things are different, the stakes are much higher, and despite how much I love you, I can't be selfish and can't put millions of lives at risks for one, even if it is you. I don't like it but…" Sally said, trying to fight back her tears.

Sonic kissed her on the lips, before he broke apart and said: "I understand it Sally. Anyone in here is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice if it means giving the people of Mobius another day to live for. But Tails said there is a chance for me now. Though I don't like the idea of using the Emeralds again, I might have to. But as long as there's a chance, only a small one…there is hope."

"I know you'll come back to me…I'm sure of it." Sally said.

"We all are behind you. Keep that in mind, and you'll find the strength to win." Tails added. The others nodded, agreeing with Tails.

"Thanks guys. With that in mind, I won't lose…now, let's save the world, shall we?" Sonic said.

And with that, the airship took off, Tails and Nicole piloting it towards the Death Egg. The last time Eggman was just playing with them, this time the game's for real. But with the stakes, they can't afford to lose…

END OF CHAPTER


	17. The Death Egg

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE DEATH EGG

"Master, an air vessel from Miracle Planet is approaching rapidly." Slicer noted to his master as he detected the Freedom Fighters on the scanners.

Eggman smirked as he said: "Let them come! I want to destroy that hedgehog myself. But don't make it too easy for them to come here!"

Slicer complied as the Death Egg's weapons fired at the aircraft. "Hang on everyone, this is going to be a bumpy ride!" Tails said as he did his best to dodge all the blasts. It took him some of his best piloting skills to pull it off, and that was with Nicole helping him. He had to strafe, barrel roll and spin to avoid it all, and some of the passengers looked a bit green after all those stunts.

"We're getting closer, now, what weapon systems does this thing have?" Tails said as he pushed a few buttons on the control panel and fired some laser blasters from the wings, taking out some of the turrets. "Not bad, classic but useful." They got closer to the Death Egg, and closer, and closer…. "Hold on everyone, we're going to ram it!" Tails warned.

"Did he just say, 'ram it'?" Sonic asked as the whole ship shook as it impacted right onto the nose of the Death Egg, but oddly enough the giant space station hasn't been pushed back an inch. "Okay, we're in, let's get out there and show that eggbelly that you don't mess with the Freedom Fighters!" Sonic said as he and the Freedom Fighters went inside and were ready to kick some metal.

The heroes were immediately greeted by large herds of robotic footsoldiers and Badniks. Sonic spin-dashed, Sally swings her tonfas, Tails swipes his namesakes, Fiona uses her daggers and martial arts, Amy uses her arrows, Lily her darts, Rotor explosives, Antoine his sword skills, Bunnie her cybernetics and Muttski his…Muttski-ness to plow their way through them. During the brawl, Sally managed to plug Nicole into the Death Egg: "This is it Nicole, just hope all your training has paid off."

Nicole reappears inside the Death Egg's mainframe, which was darker and grimmer then her handheld. "I'm ready!" Nicole said as she waved her hands and replaced the clothing of her lynx-like avatar with Tron-like Armor. She spun within the aeter, and watched with calm concentration as the security programs, their avatars shaped as eggs, advanced on her, wielding an assortment of data-cannons or meta-blades depending on their type. From her own armor, two blades shifted into position, locking onto her arms and lighting up with charges. The first met her and blades clashed, Nicole pivoting away from the downward stroke and slicing it apart with short, swift cutes. It melted into the floor, returning to the data-stream. Another pair, attempting to take advantage of her concentration, began to bracket her with cannon-fire, so she changed tact. Dropping low, she sprinted along the surface of the data-core, gathering hacked data around her in a fiery blue orb. She passed the two targets, and released her control. The orb, built from incompatible data, fractured and blew out like an explosive on a window, ripping them apart with a thousand glass-like fragments. Others came for her, and she pivoted, jumped, slashed, hacked, stabbed and dueled as she could, methodically working her way through her targets.

Then it went silent - they were gone, and she was alone with a wall, that crumbled at her touch. The next file - the systems were stronger, arachnid-like constructs rising from the floor, forming from puddles of molten data, unfolding dual-gattling guns and larger types of data-cannons and power-blade. 'Bring it on, it takes more than that to scare me.' the thought flickered through Nicole's Ai mind briefly, before she moved to engage them.

"Okay, Nicole's in the system, so now we only need to distract Eggman long enough for her to do her work." Sally explained.

"I'll give Eggman the biggest distraction there is!" Sonic said, sure of himself.

"You're going to face him yourself? He won't play around this time and he has probably a bigger and stronger mech then before waiting for you." Tails stated.

"Maybe, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and I'll make sure Humpty Dumpty has one heck of a fall." Sonic said as he rushed towards where he believed Eggman could be, the other Freedom Fighters behind him.

The Freedom Fighters were blocked by Eggman's Generals: Crabmeat, Buzzbomber, Slicer and Coconuts all stood there in a nice row. "Move out of our way!" Sonic growled at them.

"No one gets to Master Eggman as he executes his plans!" Slicer stated.

"If Eggman rewrites history, you'll be affected too!" Sally stated.

"Master Eggman wouldn't erase me, I am his loyal servant." Slicer answered.

"You sure about that? Eggman cares for no one but himself, he has no sense of honor, decency or anything good. He plunders, conquers, murders, would that make him the right master for you Slicer? You're not like him, you're fair, honorable…" Sally argued.

"SILENCE! I was built for this, created for this…and I'll fulfill my duty." Slicer said as he readied himself for battle.

"Speak for yourself. I'm only doing this in the hopes he'll not erase me from time too." Crabmeat groaned.

Sally combined her tonfa in a spear as she rushed at Slicer, the two clashing again as old rivals, Bunnie rushed at Crabmeat and tackled him down, as Tails and Buzzbomber duked it out in the air again and Coconuts faced Antoine. The rest of the Freedom Fighters faced some footsoldiers who had come in. "Go! We'll hold them off!" Sally said as she blocked Slicer's swipes with her spear.

Sonic nodded and rushed off, as he thought: "For your sake Sal, for all my friends, for their families, I won't fail!" Sonic made his way the inner sanctum, which was just a big hall with no machines or devices in it. There he saw him in his Eggmobile, Eggman himself. "If it isn't Baldy McNosehair! Have you become even fatter?" Sonic greeted.

"Heh, such witty remarks, covering up something? Aren't you afraid you'll fail to stop me?" Eggman said, unfazed by Sonic's remark.

"What's there to be afraid of, I only see a sad little lonely man in a flying chair!" Sonic said.

"You can lie to yourself, but you don't fool me, I know you're scared, scared of yourself, scared you'll fail, scared you can't defeat me, Sonic the hedgehog. And your fear is justified, you turned into a monster when you used the Emeralds, I conquered the world, I shall erase the timeline and create a new one!" Eggman ranted.

"You took over the world using my Uncle's research and ideas, you didn't accomplish anything on your own! The Drives, the Rings, the designs, it's all my uncle's work you stole, Namgge!" Sonic bit back.

"What? I am a genius! I didn't steal your uncle's research, I improved it! I perfected it! And don't call me by that name!" Eggman said, hurt in his pride.

"Of course, because you're not really Namgge are you? No, I figured it out as soon as I first turned in Super Sonic, when I was a prisoner in my own body and forced to watch as this other side of me had control…you're just using Namgge's image, you're not the one my uncle used to call his friend, you are something different, born from Chaos." Sonic stated.

Eggman chuckled. "Very clever, it appears the fox doesn't have all the brains of the group. Yes, so what if I'm not really Namgge, what if I'm just using his body, smarts and image, so what? Once the timeline is rewritten I'm free of him and I'll be me own being, I'll be the undisputed ruler of the world! But first, to deal with some minor nuisance." The floor under Eggman opened up as a giant mech, bigger then Silver Sonic, rose from the floor. Eggman's Egg Mobile attacked itself to it as it aimed it's spiky arms. "Prepare to face your doom, hedgehog!"

Nicole blasted several spider-legged egg programs with her data blasts, before cutting of the legs of a few others before slashing the main bodies. Then she saw more security programs in the distance, which had wheels attached to their bodies and moved really fast. Nicole conjured a hoverboard from data and jumped on it and raced towards the wheeled Egg Programs, slashing away at them and deleting them. "I've trained hard for this, I'm not letting this one go wrong." Nicole thought to herself.

As she moved on, she saw the hugest program of all, egg-shaped like all of them, but bigger and meaner looking, and it had a single giant red eye…This was the central core. "This is it. The central core, the very core of this travesty of a machine, if it goes, the Death Egg goes with it." The program turned its attention to her as it fired data streams from its eye, Nicole dodging on her data board. However, a second one hit her board, deleting it, making Nicole tumble before she landed on her feet and regained composure.

She continued dodging the data streams as she launched some her hers, but these didn't seem to do any damage at all. It fired more data streams and Nicole erected a barrier of data to protect herself, but the program didn't seem to be stopping with firing. Nicole lowered the shield as soon as she dodged aside, barely avoiding the streams. She tossed a data disc at the program and hit it right below it's eye, leaving a small dent. "Okay…now I've got to keep hitting that spot and it'll fall…" Nicole thought.

Meanwhile Sonic was locked in combat with the Death Egg Robot. The giant tried stepping on him, but Sonic was too fast, as he ran up the wall, jumped and homing attacked the thing in the chest, pushing it back. He tried moving in for the next blow, but he swiped Sonic aside with its massive arms. Sonic hit the ground, but got up again. "You call that an attack? I saw fairies who hit harder then you!" Sonic mocked. The mech fired it's spiky fingertips like missiles, which Sonic dodged with its speed as they missed.

Sonic slid right under the legs of the robot as he jumped up and hit the mech in the butt, sending it flying forward. The mech turned back as Sonic prepared to home in again, only to erect an electric forcefield, which Sonic hit as he was shocked and sent flying back, smoking. "Okay…I admit that one was quite good. But if you thought that was a shocker…" Sonic said as he ripped the floor open and pulled out a large electric cable. "You should see this!" Sonic said as he shocked the mech with it, shorting out it's forcefield and shocking Eggman inside.

"Yargh! Why you little…" Eggman groaned. He fired both the arms of his mechs at Sonic and started chasing him. Sonic ran as fast as he could to avoid them, but they had locked on onto him. But that gave Sonic an idea as he ran for Eggman's mech. "What are you doing…oh crud!" Eggman said as Sonic jumped up, homed in on its chest, before dashing aside as eh mech was hit by its own arms. The mech was still standing, but just barely.

"You're done for, no one to save you now!" Sonic said as he prepared to deliver the final blow. But as he rushed at Eggman, he was tackled by another very familiar blue blur. "Oh, not you again." Sonic said as he stood face to face with Metallix again, who was now repaired. It rubbed it's thumb past its nose again. Sonic saw Eggman's mech picking itself up, the arms having reattached themselves. Despite the damage done to it, it was still lethal. Sonic was caught between two opponents…

Nicole found herself dodging the data streams more and more often, as the program wouldn't allow itself to be attacked. Nicole had no time to attack, only to dodge, and she knew she couldn't do this forever. Another data stream was fired upon her, and once more Nicole found herself conjuring a barrier to protect herself. "Argh! So strong!" she said, and if she wasn't digital, she would have sweat.

Sonic was kicked in the head by Metallix before Eggman's mech swiped at him with his arms, knocking him into a wall. "Urgh! I should have seen it coming, I didn't think about the Metallix…I can't fight them both at once…" Sonic moaned. But he stood up. "But I have to, my friends are out there fighting for me, and I'm fighting for them, I can't lose, not now!"

Nicole was thinking the exact same at that moment: "…and I haven't come this far just to give up. No! I'll continue fighting to the bitter end, with every bit of my being." Nicole said. "Because I'm not just a program, I've got the heart and the spirit of a Mobian, and if I have anything that program hasn't, is the will to fight for what I believe in, something beyond programming. I will not accept defeat!"

"I am no longer afraid, I'm tired of being afraid. No matter who stands in my way: Eggman, his robots, or even my own inner demons…I'll overcome them all." Sonic said as he reached inside his quills for the box of Chaos Emeralds. "I know I don't need to be afraid, my friends protect me…"

As Nicole and Sonic were ready to face the odds, the other Freedom Fighters were fighting at their hardest. Sally blocked Slicer's blades with her spear, but got kicked in the stomach, then backhanded. Crabmeat had grabbed a pipe full of air and blew white steam in Bunnie's face, blinding her so she'd be vulnerable as Crabmeat whacked her with his claws. Buzzbomber, who normally was very unintelligent, has used a moment of distraction on Tails' part (to see if Fiona was doing all right) to pin the fox down to the ground with his clawed hand. Coconuts delivered a double kick with its monkey feet in Antoine's chest.

The rest were overwhelmed by the huge amount of footsoldiers. A Kama-Kama left a cut on Fiona's cheek before it kicked her in the face, Rotor was tackled by a Spike, a Buzzer has swooped down and knocked down Muttski, an Asteron cut at Lily's board, making her fall off, while Amy received a punch in the face by a Badnik. But the Freedom Fighters all stood up again right after they were knocked down, not giving up, they'd continue fighting.

"For their sake, I will defeat you!" Sonic and Nicole said at the same time as they were ready to face their opponents again.

Nicole's barrier grew stronger as it completely engulfed her. Inside her 'cocoon', her armor grew to cover her entire body as two mechanical yet angelic-looking wings spouted from her back, her face covered by a visor.

Sonic used the seven Emeralds, six Chaos, one fake, and tapped into their power. The emeralds glowed as Sonic started to glow golden again, with red eyes. For a moment he was in pain as he nearly felt the negative energy overtake him, but his determination and the memories of his friends helped him fight it. He stood there, no sharp teeth, no sharp claws, no spirally eyes. He was True Super Sonic.

"This is the showstopper." Both Nicole and Sonic said as they rushed towards their opponents.

Super Sonic rushed at Eggman, ripping the arm of it's mech of and clobbered him with it. "Impossible, you shouldn't be able to do that with a fake Emerald!" Eggman said, having deduced Sonic's seventh Emerald had to be fake.

"Maybe I'm not as powerful as with a real seventh emerald, but I can take this space station down!" Sonic said as he kicked the mech in the back of the head, sending it flying forward. Metallix rushed in and tried punching Sonic, who grabbed it's arm and crushed it in his grip, before ripping it off. Metallix looked scared. "Robots know fear I guess." Sonic said as he beheaded Metallix with one single punch sending its head flying out the space station into orbit, it's lifeless body falling down upon the floor. Sonic turned back to Eggman's mech, jumping up and landing with its foot on its chest, breaking the floor and sending the mech plummeting towards the core of the Death Egg, where the Time stone was, and it was charging up.

Nicole in her new form broke from the barrier and flew around the program. The data streams fired at her now bounced of her, like she wasn't affected. The program knew no fear, but it was baffled by this. Nicole rushed at him and produced a data sword, which it used to pierce it in the eye, 'blinding' it. Nicole then charged up the saber and delivered one final vertical slash, cutting the program in two, as the two halves fell apart into bits of data, being deleted.

At the same time the force field around the time stone faded, as Sonic took the Time Stone. "Your time's up!" Sonic said as he used one super-powered punch to shatter the mech, leaving only a frightened Eggman behind. "Not looking so big and tough now. What was it about me being afraid?" Sonic asked.

"You may have bested me, but I'll be back." Eggman said as he pulled out a remote, pushed a button, and he vanished. He always had another escape plan, a simple teleporter in this case.

But Sonic didn't let that bother him. "Don't worry, I'll be ready!" Sonic said as he punched the core of the Death Egg, where the Time Stone was, and sparks flew everywhere, as the place was set to blow.

Sally swiped with her spear, whacking Slicer in the face and sending him flying. Bunnie punched Crabmeat hard as he was sent flying down the corridor too. Tails sent Buzzbomber flying using a whack of his namesakes, as Antoine disarmed Coconuts with his sword as he then kicked Coconuts in his…coconuts and sent the monkey flying too.

Muttski grabbed two fallen Asteron's sword and used them in a spin attack to defeat the remaining footsoldiers, while Rotor used his girth to ram them into a wall and crush them. Amy and Lily had pierced them with their arrows and darts and Fiona sliced the last one apart with her daggers. Nicole meanwhile had uploaded herself back to her handheld.

"Nicole? Did you do it?" Sally asked.

"I did, and so did Sonic, but now we need to go, this place is going down!" Nicole explained.

Sonic, still in Super form, rushed onto the scene as he said: "Allow me!" he concentrated real hard and the entire Death Egg was engulfed in green light. The Freedom Fighters, Nicole and the Badniks (who had Mobians inside, the rest was left behind) were transported out in a flash of light as the Death Egg blew up in a huge explosion.

Sonic and the Freedom fighters were transported back to Miracle Planet, where Sonic soon returned to normal and the Emeralds left his body. The fake emerald shook as it shattered. "Guess it was only good for one go!" Sonic noted.

Sally jumped in his arms as she kissed him passionately, Sonic happily returned the kiss. They broke apart, but didn't exchange any words, just hugged, in the aftermath of the battle.

"So…where's Eggman?" Fiona asked.

"He weaseled his way out, that's what. But we'll worry about him later, now he has learned not to take us lightly. I don't know about his lackeys, either they blew up or hit the escape pods, but all the Badniks are transported somewhere near Eastern Barred Island, out of Eggman's reach. That will hold them until we remove the suits." Sonic explained.

"Sally!" a series of voices said, Alicia, Elias and Isaac's to be exact. They ran up to Sally and pulled her in a big 'family hug'. "I'm so glad you're okay my dear." Alicia said.

"Told you I'd come back mom. I needed to come back for you." Sally said. The other Freedom fighters smiled in the background. They were happy for Sally, though they all wished to be reunited with their families someday too.

However, not soon afterwards, they had to go. The day was almost over, and Miracle Planet would vanish for another month again. "You sure you don't want to come?" Sally asked.

"No, we have the peaceful life here. Besides we're not warriors. But every time Miracle Planet appears, you are all more than welcome to come over." Isaac answered.

"Where does Miracle Planet vanish to anyway?" Fiona asked.

"To a different zone, wavelength, plane of existence. One that's not ruled by an evil tyrant. But we'll be glad to return to Mobius once it's freed from that horrible Eggman. But I'm sure that with you on the job, you'll make sure that time is sooner than later." Alicia said.

"We'll make sure…bye Mom. It's no fair I only got to see you a day again. You too, Isaac…Elias…" she said as she pulled her family into one big hug. "Come and join in, you're all family too!" Sally said to the other Freedom Fighters, who did so.

"We got to go through the warp ring now, or we'll be stuck here for a month." Tails said as he broke free and activated it. One by one they stepped through. They all waved a final goodbye as they stepped through, Sally going last, staying behind the longest as she got through the ring just at the last second.

She ended up back at the Miracle Lake, where she saw the planet vanish. Tears of joy and sadness ran down her cheeks, as Sonic wrapped her arm around her. "Hey, they'll be back in a month, and next time Eggman won't dare to ruin the reunion."

"He won't dare anything, cause we are the Freedom Fighters, and we've just shown to him and to the rest of Mobius that Eggman is not invincible, and he can be defeated. We'll put him to justice one day, and with that, children can play, people can be happy, and families can reunite…" Sally stated as she and the other Freedom Fighters looked victoriously at the sunset over the horizon.

Eggman, at his base, surrounded by his generals (who somehow escaped the destruction of the Death Egg) was furious and was breaking anything he got his hands on: he had broken his desk, his chair, everything. "No! It was supposed to be my game! I was supposed to win, it was supposed to go according to the rules!" he shouted.

"Master…please!" Slicer said, trying to calm him down, but to no avail.

"Nothing 'please', you all failed me! You're all nothing but junk!" Eggman shouted. He calmed down a bit as he muttered: "The rules have changed, my next plan must be foolproof, no more games, no more taunting, I just want those Freedom Fighters DEAD! And you all get a final chance to prove yourselves, cause if this doesn't work…well, none of you will!"

END OF CHAPTER


	18. Crazy Cuckoos on Cocoa Island

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTTEEN: CRAZY CUCKOOS ON COCOA ISLAND

The Cocoa Archipelago, after the Emerald Archipelago the largest group of islands on Mobius, thanking its name to Cocoa Island, the largest island of the group, at the center of the island group. This is where our heroes were heading, or at least three in particular: Tails, Fiona and Lily. "Why am I here with you? I should be watching after princess Amy." Lily asked.

"Well, you're taking your job as a bodyguard too seriously, you should start leading your own life for once. Besides, your hoverboard skills come in handy for scouting these islands." Fiona explained.

"We want to find out why this island group is left unaffected by Eggman. Is there something that keeps Eggman away? Such an island group like this one is not easily overlooked." Tails explained.

"Enough with the chit-chat, approaching Cocoa Island!" Tori said, being the one who transported the trio over to the Cocoa Archipelago. The islands came into view, and oddly enough they were colorful and rich with plant life, and knowing Eggman he wouldn't leave anything of plantlife left, since the mad dictator had a phobia or anything involving nature.

"If we weren't so busy saving the world, this place would seem like a perfect vacation spot. It has beaches, a nice lush forest…" Fiona commented.

"Or a romantic date spot." Tails added.

"What was that?" Fiona asked.

"Er…nothing!" Tails said quickly, as he mentally slapped himself: "You idiot, stop being shy, tell her she's the greatest chick in the world, that you like her and…"

"Tails!" Fiona shouted; snapping Tails out of his daze, as Tails avoided flying in a rock formation. "What was that, you're a better pilot then that. You nearly flew into that, you distracted?" she asked him.

"Er…yes, I'm worried. We may have thwarted the Death Egg, but Eggman is still out there and he can come up with something else…and the fact these islands are unfazed worries me…" Tails lied.

"You shouldn't worry so much. It doesn't suit you. You've already done more than anyone your age ever could. It was because of your Warp Rings and Fake Emerald we could save the day. No matter what he'll throw at us, I'm sure that you'll pull us through with your smarts…your skills…your handsomeness." Fiona replied.

"What was that last one?" Tails asked.

"Nothing!" Fiona said quickly, mirroring Tails' earlier behavior. She even had an inner monologue: "You idiot, you like him. You should tell him how you feel, you should tell him he's the most wonderful guy in the world…"

"And I thought Princess Amy was obvious." Lily thought to herself, having followed all of these events.

"We're here, are you going to land me or are you going to fly me in another rock pillar first?" Tori commented as they neared the shore.

"All right, let's land!" Tails said as he landed his plane. "This is it. Remember, this is a scouting mission, if you see anything suspicious, don't engage it and warn the others. If it's necessary we'll call reinforcements from Freedom HQ. Got it?" Tails noted. Fiona and Lily agreed, as they split up to scout the island.

"What about me?" Tori asked.

"Your automatic defense systems are online, in case you need to, you'll be able to defend yourself." Tails explained as he left off.

Tails went along the coastline of the island, but he had trouble paying attention as his mind was on Fiona…she has always been on his mind ever since he met her. "I mean, she is so strong, so sassy, and did she a number on me when we first met. And that fire in her as she fights…focus Tails! Let's see, sand…more sand…beach, walking across the beach with Fiona, before we lie down to sunbathe as I pour sun screen on her back…d'oh! I can't stop thinking about her!"

But out of nowhere, several mechs spouted out of the ground in front of Tails, forcing him to halt. "Whoa, where did those come from? They aren't Eggman's machines!" It was true as these mechs were walker-like, had a dark blue color scheme and domes on top of them. They took aim and started firing at him. Tails evaded the gunfire as he flew around.

"Hey, is that how you treat tourists? No wonder no vacation guide mentions this place…that's a good one, must tell Sonic that one." Tails said before he was forced to dodge more gunfire. "Just chill!" Tails said as he swiped with his tails at the mechs, cracking the domes, revealing bird-like Mobians to be the pilots. "Great, I'm getting shot at by canned chickens."

"We're cuckoos!" the birds argued.

"Whatever, why are you shooting at me?" Tails asked.

"You're entering our territory, this island belongs to the Battle Bird Armada!" the bird argued.

"The Battle What? No matter, that's still no reason to start shooting at me!" Tails said before the birds opened fire again, as Tails dodged: "What did I just say?" Tails shouted back. Tails rushed at them and used his tails to whack the domes and knock the birds out of it. He then entered the mechs and pulled out some wires from the control panels, before rushing off and leave the mechs to explode. The birds pulled out some hoverboards and flew off, not wanting to face Tails without their mechs. "Did those guys just pull out Extreme Gear? Maybe I should ask Lily about it, she's the expert." Tails thought.

Fiona was following a river. "Okay Fiona, concentrate, think about the mission, not about Tails and that wonderful furry chest, which is so muscular for his age, those bushy tails which are so soft and…d'oh! Why can't I stop thinking about him?" she was having the nearly exact problem as Tails except for…

Oh wait, spoke too soon, Fiona was soon ambushed and fired upon by some pod-shaped flying ships. She managed to dodge just fine using her agility. "Where do these guys come from?" she wondered as she ran to avoid the mechs. The mechs started firing, but like all baddies couldn't aim if their lives depended on it, so Fiona could dodge just fine.

"I had it with these guys!" Fiona said as she ran towards a tree, kicked off it and landed on one of the pods, shattering the dome with her fists, revealing the birds inside: "Hey, this is no way to treat a lady!" Fiona said as she kicked the bird out of its pod as she took it over and used it to shoot the other out of the sky, before she abandoned the one she was in and allowed it to crash.

"We'll get back at you, you non-avian intruder!" the pilots said as they hopped on hoverboards and fled.

"Hoverboards? Those look like the one Lily makes…maybe I should ask her about it later." Fiona noted.

Lily was going through the forest. Lily was nervous as she wasn't used to be by herself, but she didn't want to show weakness in front of Tails and Fiona. "Okay, you can do it, you're not a pet, you can be just fine on your own…" she said to herself. She however, jumped up and screamed when she heard something in the bushes. To her relief it was only a small rodent. "Heh, a lightfoot. Silly me! There is nothing to be afraid of here!"

Then Lily jumped back as she nearly was hit by a laser that just landed at her feet as she screamed and jumped back. She saw several robotic bird-like machines, taking aim at her. "Those designs look like…no! NO! Don't say it's true!" Lily said as she jumped of her board and flew off. The bird-like drones gave chase. They fired at her as she dodged using her skills on the hoverboard. She turned back and tossed some darts, one hitting the wing of the first, blowing it off before it crashed, but the second missed.

"Darn it!" Lily said as she was still chased by the second one. She dodged more fire, before she got an idea. She jumped of her board, flipped in mid-air, grabbed something from the back of the drone (a pin) and landed back on her board behind the drone, which fell apart. "I already thought their designs looked simple." Lily noted.

She walked up to the remains of the drone, and studied it. "Don't panic, maybe it's not their tech, maybe it's new Eggman tech or…" she then saw a logo on one of the parts: a skull with red spikes sticking out. "No! It's really them! I need to get out of here, but how can I convince Tails and Fiona without raising suspicion? No time to think, I'll improvise!" she said as she hopped on her board and rushed off.

Lily, Tails and Fiona regrouped on the beach, as Lily said rapidly: "Hey guys, nice view on the island, but nothing dangerous to see so let's go home and have some cocoa shall we? Okay, let's go!" she said as she rushed towards Tori, but Fiona grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Wait a sec, I ran into a couple of birds in flying pods when I walked by the river. They were very hostile and shot at me as soon as they saw me!" Fiona explained.

"Yeah, me too! They called themselves…the Battle Bird Armada I believe." Tails added.

Lily looked nervous and sweaty. "Oh…maybe we should leave them alone and don't bother with them, they obviously don't like visitors. Ok, let's go!" Lily said, but Tails held her back.

"Lily, you're acting weird, is there something about those birds you want to tell us?" Tails asked.

"Er…no, really, but I just have the feeling that we shouldn't be messing with them. So I think it's safer if we just get off this island and forget about this." Lily said, not really convincing.

"We can't, they are hostile for no reason and if we leave, we might not be there if they attack innocents who accidentally bump into this island. We don't know if they're aligned with Eggman or not, but they are too dangerous to ignore. And obviously you know something about them, because you're off!" Tails stated.

"Well…it's like this…" Lily said, not knowing what to say, as all of a sudden more pod-like mechs shot from the ground or swooped down from the sky, followed by more of the Pursuit drones. "We're under attack!" Lily said.

"We can't even go to one tiny island without being attacked. Well, guess there is no other choice, we fight!" Tails said as the three Freedom Fighters engaged the Battle Birds.

Tails flew up and did some tricks in the air to avoid all the gunfire, before he sliced the wings of a battle pod and made it crash in several walkers (the battle birds ejected out in time). He then was attacked by two pursuit drones, which he sliced in half with his tails. The Battle birds that ejected now hopped on their boards, aiming guns at Tails, but he was too fast, and knocked them off their boards.

Fiona used her daggers to slice the legs of the walkers off, making it fall down. Since they couldn't aim at that angle, the battle birds crawled out and tried aiming their guns, but Fiona kicked the weapons out of their hands and caught them. She scared the battle birds of with the guns as she used them to shoot flying pods and drones out of the air.

Lily tossed her darts all around her, hitting pods, drones and walkers alike, the darts blowing the pods up as the battle birds ejected and got on their own boards as well. They aimed their guns at Lily, who tossed darts at their weapons, which they had to toss aside to avoid being blown up alongside her guns.

Tori, thanks to her autopilot could fly on her own and fight, but since she was a bigger target then the pods, she had to do various tricks in the air to dodge, before she used gunfire to knock the pods and drones out of the air, and before she unleashed more gunfire on the walkers.

It seemed that our heroes were skilled enough to hold their own, but that they were going to be outnumbered eventually. And their fear was soon realized, when Tori was struck in the wing and she crashed down on the beach (she was still relatively intact though) as the Battle Bird tied her up in specialized nets.

Tails tried to dodge all the gunfire that was fired at him. Though he dodged the gunfire, a Battle Bird on a hoverboard had snuck up on him and whacked him in the back of the head with his weapon, knocking him out.

"Tails!" Fiona said as she saw Tails plummet towards the ground. She was distracted enough by this to shocked unconscious when the pursuit drones used some kind of electric weapon. One of the pursuit drones grabbed Tails before he hit the ground, but only to keep him as a prisoner.

Lily was out of darts, her allies were defeated and she was on her own against all of the Battle Birds. They had surrounded her and aimed their weapons at her. Lily sighed, stepped of her hoverboard, closed her eyes and raised her hands, showing she surrendered.

Tails and Fiona woke up inside a prison cell, their heads hurting as hell, Lily in the corner of the room: "Hey, you're awake…" she said, feeling ashamed for some reason.

"Ouch, I can't believe I got creamed by a bunch of birds in pods. Though there were a lot of them." Fiona moaned.

"They captured us…great! They also have stripped us of our tech and weapons. But now we're here, we finally might get some answers. Lily, now you are going to tell us what's been going on with you, and who these bird-zo's are!" Tails added.

"Allow me to do that for her." A voice said. A green bird, around Tails' height, wearing brown gloves and boots, a red scarf and brown goggles came into view. He had a Extreme Gear board strapped to his back, which was held in a backpack of sorts. "Allow me to introduce myself, Grand Battle Kukku the 16th!"

"Yeah, we're already know you guys are cuckoo, but what's the meaning of this?" Tails asked.

Speedy didn't look amused at the witty comment. "We are the Battle Bird Armada, the rightful owners of the sky, the future rulers of Mobius and we won't allow a freak and his gang to get in our way." The green bird replied.

"Don't call him a freak! He's a Chaos Adept!" Fiona reacted, bearing her fangs.

"So the freak has a girlfriend? I'm going to be sick. Chaos adept or not, foxes shouldn't belong in the sky, at least other beings like bees, bats and such have something like wings, but he defies gravity and nature with his mutation." The battle kuku replied.

"At least my name doesn't make me sound like Swiss craftsmanship." Tails bit back.

"Very cheeky. But it won't do you no good. You're our prisoners, and you can't get out, the bars are made from Megatal, even you can't cut it. Dad's going to be so proud, I caught two intruders and a traitor." The bird replied.

"Traitor? You mean Lily?" Fiona asked.

"Indeed, she was one of us, but she turned her back on us. Such a shame, she was such a skilled soldier and mechanic, but she had to turn from a bluebird into a chicken."

"The pot calls the kettle black. Don't you remember Speedy, you wanted to step away from it all too, you didn't want the responsibilities, you didn't want to accept your fate as future ruler of the Armada, you didn't want to step in your dad's blueprints. But you were too cowardly to step away, at the last second you drew back!" Lily argued.

"Don't call me by that nickname! I didn't turn coward, I got sensible. The armada is my past, present and future, and I came to accept my fate. It's how it's supposed to be." Speedy replied.

"You really believe your own lies?" Lily asked.

Speedy growled as he said: "I've got nothing to say to you anymore. You'll wait here until you face trial at my father's hands. You still got a chance to rejoin us, Lily. If you show regret for your actions."

"The only thing I regret is that I wasn't able to take you with me." Lily said.

Speedy groaned as he left, but not before saying: "To think I used to think of you as a friend."

As Speedy left, Lily ran to the corner of her cell, curled up into a ball and cried. "Hey, you okay…that was a stupid question, isn't it?" Fiona asked.

"I'll be fine…it's just, you must now think little of me now you know I was associated with these guys." Lily answered.

"You kidding me? Why would we think less of you? You turned your back on them, you ran away from them, you made your own decisions, you took your own path, you became a hero, for Walker's sake!" Tails stated.

"Yes, besides I nearly committed a murder prior to joining the Freedom Fighters, remember? It's not about who you once where, but who you've become. And you've become a Freedom Fighter, you've become one of the heroes who helped taking down the Death Egg!" Fiona assured her.

Lily smiled a little more, but was still sad: "Thanks…you know, I'm lucky to have found such good friends in you. Will the rest be so accepting? What will Amy think of me now?"

"They'll agree with us, you can be sure of that." Fiona added.

Then the door to the prison quarters opened, and some Battle Birds came in, they probably were on guard duty. But Lily was horrified to see the three. They were female, and wore identical uniforms. One of them was red with spiky hair and a long beak, the second was large, green and a bit chubby, she had a haircut that looked like a palm tree and the last was the youngest and the shortest, being a light purple with pigtails, but messier then Lily's.

"Hello sis! I would say it's nice to see you again, but then I'd be lying. I see you managed to get yourself a girl, that's what you were into these days? Oh, and I see you adopted a kid, makes sense since two outlets can't connect I guess." The red female bird said.

Lily looked angrily at the red bird: "You are not my sister, Scarlet! You are born from the same parents but you haven't acted much like a sister my whole life. Sisters are supposed to care for each other, support each other, you are no family of mine!"

"The only family I supported is the Battle Bird armada, there is no room for weaknesses. The only one we are loyal to is the Battle Lord, family ties are of no importance compared to the glorious empire our leader has built." Scarlet replied.

"Glorious? This empire is built on plundering, conquest and murder, there is nothing glorious about that. You're no hair better then Eggman!" Lily bit.

"Do not compare us to that fat oaf! We waged war on the empire for some time and still he didn't managed to take our base and our tech." Scarlet said.

"He's just toying with you, I know how he works. He was busy on much more important matters then this joke of a bunch. I can know, I've seen how he works, and he hasn't unleashed the best of his tech on you." Lily stated.

"Your lies won't elude me. You'll remain in here and when the Battle Bird inflict punishment on you traitor, I'll enjoy watching it!" Scarlet said as she walked away from Lily and sat down on a chair. "But until then, I'm dutied with guarding you. I'll make the little time you have unbearable."

"I'm not afraid of you anymore, I'm no longer a little hatchling!" Lily berated, but Scarlet didn't listen as she started reading a magazine.

The green and purple birds made their way to the cell, and pulled out a bag of jellybeans and a cookie. "Here, don't let Scarlet see you have it." The green bird girl said.

"I'm glad you two didn't turn out like Scarlet…but why didn't you follow me when I left the armada?" Lily said.

"We were never brave, unlike you Lily. But know that despite all what happens, we still think of you as our sister. We wish we could spare you from the wrath of the Battle Lord, but…we are nothing to him." The purple bird added.

"Olive! Fuchsia! Don't talk to the prisoners." Scarlet shouted at the two birds.

"I'm sorry!" they said as they moved away from the bars and took position next to Scarlet.

Lily sat down in the corner again: "Some sisters I have. One's a bitch, the others are scared. The only friend I had in this twisted organization has succumbed and now my darkest secrets are out. It would be best if the Battle Lord comes in to finish me now!"

"Are you going to give up like that? After all you've been through, you survived the Death Egg, we'll survive this one as well." Fiona assured her.

"But how? We are stripped of our tools!" Lily wondered.

"We don't need tools, all we need is our mind and our wits. The mind is stronger than any tool or weapon. We'll get out, teach these birds a lesson and we'll show them that you don't mess with the Freedom Fighters.

END OF CHAPTER


	19. Battle Bird Busters

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETEEN: BATTLE BIRDS BUSTERS

While the three heroes were still in their prison cell, Tori has been carried off and brought to the Battle Bird's labs, to study her technology. There, an old Mobian owl turned himself to her: "For technology that is not my own, it's quite impressive…Still not impressive as mine."

"You went impressive, I can show you impressive, old fart!" Tori berated.

"The name's Fukurukov, Dr. Fukurukov. And I can't believe I got myself one that has personality. Why would he install something useless as that in a machine?" the owl asked.

"I'm not just a machine, Fuckedupenough! And having personality isn't useless, it allows me to pull your leg when I want to!" Tori said.

"It's Fukurukov! It's not that hard to pronounce…no matter, I've put a limiter on you, you can't use your weapon systems. So you can only make idle threats and petty insults and I'm far too mature to…" Fukurukov said, but then he was sprayed in the face by Tori, using the water she'd use to wipe her windshields… "Oh, wise girl huh? Well, it's just water and…" he then gets sprayed in the face with some oil by Tori. "…okay, that was just rude! I'm going to…" an arm popped up from Tori, holding a coffee, which she poured over his head. "Argh! That's hot, why didn't the limiter prevent that?"

"Technically they're not weapon systems so they work. Oh, what was that about being mature, Voodoomarkov?" Tori replied.

"It's Fukurukov…And I have enough of you, I'm going to pull you apart and see what makes you tick!" Fukurukov said pissed. Tori launched an alarm clock on a spring, which was held close to Fukurukov's ears, and make it ring very loudly, and hurting Fukurukov's ears.

"Oh, you said 'make me tick', not 'give me something that ticks', my bad!" Tori taunted.

"What?" Fukurukov said as he held his hand behind his ear.

Scarlet, Fuchsia and Olive still were guarding our heroes, who were still inside their cell. The job looked easy as the heroes had no way of escape thanks to the Megatal bars and having no tools. But then…. "I need to get out! I need to get out!" Fiona said as she grabbed the bars and pulled, looking in panic, before she started to run around in her cell, breathing heavily.

"Keep quiet in there." Scarlet bit at them.

"Fiona's claustrophobic! She doesn't like tight spaces. She's been trying to deal with it, but it's getting too much for her. You need to do something before she starts hyperventilating." Tails warned.

"Why should we, the Battle Lord would dispose of her anyway." Scarlet said bored.

"But I'm sure he wants to do the job himself. Besides, you would be a terrible guard if anything would happen to your prisoners, the Battle Lord wouldn't put much faith in you if that would happen." Tails argued.

Scarlet thought for a moment, before she pulled a gun. "All right, I'll come in and check up on her, but I need you two to stand against the wall while I do so or I'll put one in your lap!" she said as she gestured Fuchsia to open the cell door, as Tails and Lily backed off as Scarlet pointed the gun at them, and Olive moved closer to Fiona.

"Er…hey there, no need to panic, we'll let you out, we'll bring you to a more open space until the Battle Lord's here." Olive tried to comfort her. But then Fiona kicks Olive in the stomach, she bumps into Scarlet, who drops her gun, Fuchsia tried picking it up, but Tails grabbed the gun with one of his tails and aimed it at the three siblings.

"Now tell us where our belongings are and we are not going to put one on your laps." Tails threatened.

"You wouldn't! I know how you work, you don't kill, you're too weak for that. Besides, I'd never tell you anything either way, I'd rather die than helping you in the slightest." Scarlet said smugly.

"Second hall on the right, third door on the left!" Fuchsia said rapidly. Scarlet gave her a dirty look. "I can't shut up when I'm scared." Fuchsia said ashamed. Scarlet growled as she moved her foot and kicked the gun out of Tails' hands, as it is sent flying across the room, as the three siblings advance on our heroes.

Olive was despite her chubby appearance very agile and fast and she was keeping up with Fiona, blocking her kicks while landing several quick punches, which Fiona dodged, but a last one hit her in the face and sent her staggering back. Fiona grabs a lamp on the ceiling, swings on it and uses it to deliver a flying kick to Olive knocking her over.

Fuchsia tried launching several karate chops on Tails, but the young kitsune was swift and dodged them all. He then swiped with his tails, slamming her into a wall. But she then grabs his tails and swung him around before tossing him into a wall. He appeared unconscious as Fuchsia moved closer, but Tails woke up and uppercuts her, knocking her out.

Scarlet fought Lily. Both of them launched punches and kicks at one another, but none seemed to have the upper hand. Until Scarlet managed to catch one of Lily's punches, twist her arm behind her back and hold her in a chokehold. "Don't bother, I know all your moves, I've taught them to you myself, little sis!" Scarlet gloated.

"Yes, but I've learned some new ones!" Lily said as she stomped on Scarlet's toes, elbowed her in the stomach, grabs her hair and rams he head in a wall, knocking her out. "And don't call me 'little sis'!" she bit at her sister.

The heroes dragged her sisters into the prison cell and locked them in. Lily couldn't care less about Scarlet, but she felt bad for Olive and Fuchsia. But they had to escape, so they went down the hallway and found the door Fuchsia talked about, and reclaimed their belongings: Tails his belt of tools, Fiona her daggers, and Lily her Extreme Gear. "Okay, now we need to get out of here…wherever this place is." Tails stated.

"If we can get some access to some files on this fortress, we might be able to throw things off-balance, distracting them enough for us to cover our escape!" Lily suggested.

"That's brilliant. But where do we start?" Fiona wondered.

Tails thought for a moment, until he saw a sign with an arrow on the wall, which said 'lab'. "The lab should be a good start, it would set their progress back considerably. But I wonder why there's signs everywhere?" Tails said as noted several signs which read stuff like 'cafetaria' and 'brig'.

"They are cuckoo's, not pigeons, bad sense of direction." Lily pointed out.

"Let's just get to the lab." Fiona said as they left.

They ran through the hallways, avoiding being seen by the Battle Birds as they finally made it to the lab, as they heard an angry voice in the distance: "ARROGANT SPOILT FLYING BUCKET OF BOLTS! I'm a doctor, I demand more respect from you!"

"Yeah, I shall show respect for the guy that's trying to take me apart…note my sarcasm Dr. Finished-Off!" Tori's voice sounded as well.

"FUKURUKOV!"

"Oh my god, who the hell cares!" Tori replied.

The old scientific owl jumped up and down like a child throwing a tantrum. Tori has been giving him a hard time. "I can't help I'm born with that name. It's not that hard to pronounce, it really isn't. Now you know that with that limiter you can't do much to me other than some childish pranks, so now be good and work with me, I'll make this painless if you do!"

"Kiss my shiny metal tail section!" Tori said. Fukurukov now started to blabber incomprehensibly as steam came from his ears as his face was red with anger. "Whoa, you're one cooked up bird, Fukurukov!"

"It's Finiccikov…I mean Ferrarikov…Oh you tricked me!" Fukurukov said, Tori laughing at his slip-up.

"That's it, I don't care if I'll lose valuable tech, I'll just blow you up to tiny bits, anything to get rid of you!" Fukurukov said, before he was tapped on the shoulder. "Yes?" he said as he turned around, only to get punched in the face, and was knocked out instantly.

"Nice punch, Lily!" Fiona complimented.

"That felt good. During my time here, he was the worst guy to be an assistant to." Lily replied.

"I've heard how you worked the guy up from down the hall. I didn't intend your personality to be this strong when I programmed you, but I'm glad I did." Tails said as he grabbed his tools and started prying loose the limiter.

"No prob, pops! So you, your girlfriend and the bluebird got out fine, didn't expect any less. Though your timing couldn't be any closer? He was about to blow me up you know?" Tori replied.

"She's not my girlfriend." Tails said blushing as he continued on the limiter.

"Oh but you want her to be…seriously, you organics can be so thick. You obviously like each other. You were basically flirting when you were flying inside me! So…" Tori said as the limiter popped off, and she had full access to her functions. She spouted two arms, and used it to push Tails and Fiona together. "Go and make out already!"

She has pushed them into each other in a way that their lips were pressed against each other. After getting over the 'awkward phase' of the moment, the two foxes wrapped their arms around each other and continued kissing passionately.

"Not the way I imagined the two would get together…but it worked." Lily noted.

"Someone had to give them a push in the back, and let I just happen to be the girl-plane-robot for the job." Tori added.

Fiona and Tails broke apart… "Wow, er…well…this was different. Listen Fi, I…" Tails said after taking it all in.

"You're giving me corny speech on what you like about me? And that you've loved me since we first met? Unfortunately we don't have time for that. But let me tell you something, Tailsy: this stunt of Tori's has saved us a lot of awkward moments." Fiona replied.

"Let's just get to blowing this place up so we can cover our escape. First hack into this file here." Lily said as she moved to Fukurukov's computer and started dialing away. Though it was slightly harder without Nicole helping them, she was adept with the Armada's technology. "Guess what, this place is an airship, disguised as an island. It has some really good cloaking tech, which explains why we didn't detect it."

"Now you mention, I saw an island that wasn't on my map, I just thought my maps were outdated." Tails realized.

"Okay, I'll just send some of the base's systems crashing and those birds will be busy for months trying to repair the damage." Lily said as she overloaded some systems with some skillful hacking.

"Okay, we need to get out…but Tori's wing's still damaged. To escape from here, we have no choice but to use her untested submarine mode." Tails stated.

"No worries, you designed me with an attitude, I'm confident in this upgrade. Besides the fake emerald worked too, didn't it?" Tori assured them.

"All right then, according to the files Lily got us there is a hangar bay next to the lab, we'll drive her there and prepare our escape." Tails said as they brought Tori to the hangar and prepared to board the water. "This is it, let's see if you can transform."

"Okay, stand back!" Tori said as he wheels retracted, her tail shifted positions, her wings retracted and her front opened up and a drill spouted out, as a dome erected over the seats. "It worked."

It was then that a bullet zoomed past their heads, barely missing them, they turned around to see Speedy, Scarlet, Olive and Fuchsia. "Darn, I missed…you think you punks could get away with knocking me out and locking me away. Luckily Speedy was around to bust us out."

"Very lucky…" Fuchsia said as she dreamingly looked at Speedy.

"We didn't need to shoot them, my father wants them in one piece, he wants to study the fox properly." Speedy said.

"I'm touched by your devotion to your dad, but I don't think it will hurt if I run a bullet through the parts it won't matter…like his heart!" Scarlet said as she aimed her gun again. Tails looked carefully as he was ready to dodge. But at the last second she changed the direction of her gun and shot at Fiona, who fell down.

"NO!" Tails said shocked, everyone was actually rather shocked, including Speedy.

"Why did you do that?" Speedy asked.

"I did as you said: I didn't damage the fox…besides the vixen was of no use to us!" Scarlet said.

"You…witch!" Tails said as he showed his fangs, his eyes turned red and a dark aura surrounded him. The Battle Birds looked shocked. Scarlet shrugged it off and shot at Tails, but to her surprise, Tails caught the bullet in his hand without harm as he crushed it into powder.

He then rushed at them, faster than the eye could see, as Tails grabbed the gun from Scarlet's hand and crushed it. She tried to punch him, but he caught her hand and slowly started breaking it in his hand. She screamed out in pain, the remaining Battle Birds keeping their distance. "Help me you dolts!" she shouted at them.

"Go ahead, I dare you!" Tails growled at them. They all stepped back against the wall, looking scared, Fuchsia hugging Speedy for comfort. Tails continued twisting Scarlet's arm, who was feeling so much pain she was crying now.

"Please don't hurt me…mercy…" Scarlet whined.

"Normally I would. Just one problem, toots; you're talking to the wrong Tails!" he said as he punched her in the stomach a few times, then in the face. He then grabbed her head and slammed it down in the ground a few times. "Any last words? Except for 'don't kill me' or 'don't hurt me'?" Tails asked with sadistic delight in his voice.

"Tails, don't!" a voice said, one that drew Tails' attention: he saw Fiona was still alive. She even was standing up normally. Tails noticed a necklace around her neck, the bullet having been caught in it. Fiona's necklace was the last thing she had from her mother…and from beyond the grave she had saved Fiona's live.

However, Tails was still in dark mode. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't rip her arm off and beat her to death with it? Come to think of it, why should we have shown mercy to any of our enemies, it'd be so much easier…"

"Because if you cross the line, you can never go back. I can know, I was at that line. Please don't lose yourself Tails…I don't want to lose you, not now we're finally together." Fiona begged.

Tails eyes returned to blue again as the dark aura vanished. "What am I doing?" he said as he let Scarlet go, who looked pathetic, curled up in a ball on the floor crying. "Did I almost…" Tails wondered.

"No you didn't. But what happened to you out there?" Fiona asked.

"I dunno…I was afraid I'd lost you…I felt sadness, anger. I felt it taking over me and I became this…" Tails said shocked.

"I felt a lot of negative Chaos energy coming from you…you think some of the negative energy you siphoned from Super Sonic attached itself to you?" Tori noted.

"Oh no…I've got a monster inside me…" Tails said in panic.

"Sonic told us his demon is still inside him too, but he has learnt to control it for now, we can do the same for you. I don't love you any less because of that." Fiona assured Tails.

"Guys, some battle jerks trying to escape?" Lily said as she pointed at Fuchsia, Olive and Speedy trying to sneak away on the tips of their toes, but stopped once they were noticed.

"You trying to warn someone? If you do, you'll make Tails very angry, and you won't like it when he's angry, Scarlet can tell." Fiona reminded them. Tails faked the look of his dark alter ego on his face.

"Commander, you in there? What's going on? Where are the prisoners?" a battle bird asked, who was on the other side of the door of the hangar. The door was locked so he couldn't get in.

"Nothing's going on, the prisoners have escaped, you and the others just start on repairing the ship." Speedy ordered. On the other side, they could hear the battle birds leave. Speedy looked at our heroes, sighed and said: "Just go!"

The heroes hopped aboard Tori, who lowered herself into the water, as they left the base. "It was one crazy adventure, but I hope those birds will be off our backs for a while." Fiona noted.

"I had hoped to never see them again. I wish I could say we won't be seeing them again, but I'm sure it isn't true. Once there is no more Eggman to distract them, they'll come after us." Lily said sadly.

"But we'll be ready next time." Fiona assured her. Tails was awfully quiet, and for a reason. "Tailsy?"

"You know what's bothering me. I turned into a monster out there for a while…but I don't know what to do, if I try the siphon again, it might create another evil copy like that scourge of a fake Sonic. Besides, it didn't work for Sonic as his evil side is still in there. I think I'm cursed." Tails said.

"Listen Tails…you're the sweetest and nicest guy I've ever met. What attacked Scarlet out there wasn't you. You're still the Tails I love, and I won't let you fall because of this." Fiona said.

"You better not, I don't want all my handiwork to be undone!" Tori muttered.

"You still want me?" Tails asked.

"That you still dare asking that, of course I still want you! You're the only one I want Tails." Fiona assured him.

Tails started to smile again: "And I thought you wanted to avoid the corny romantic speeches." Tails said jokingly, noting he was back.

"Oh shut up and kiss me you wonderful man!" Fiona said as she pulled Tails towards her and kissed him passionately.

Luckily Tori was auto-steering herself: "Just make sure it stays at kissing, lovebirds, I don't want to have my new seats getting dirty." She joked. Tails and Fiona ignored her.

When they broke apart, Lily asked them something: "Listen…I'm no longer afraid to hide my past, I'm going to be honest with the other Freedom Fighters. But please, will you keep my sexuality a secret? I wouldn't be able to look Princess Amy in the eyes again."

"Okay…but you realize you can't keep it hidden forever." Tails agreed.

"I know. But I'm looking for a right moment, the moment where Amy wouldn't need me anymore. When she has found the one who truly deserves her, and makes her happy. Then she doesn't want me around." Lily stated.

At the Battle Fortress, Speedy and Scarlet looked at a screen, which despicted the silhouette of the leader of the Battle Bird Armada. "You two had them, and you let them go…" he said angrily at them.

"But father, they were stronger and smarter then they looked…" Speedy reacted.

"Silence! I don't have time for this. The Eggman Empire still wages war on us for control of this island group. With that and the ongoing search of our fabled homeland, we have more immediate matters going on than the traitor, the freak and his mate. But once Eggman falls and the Garden is found, they'll get what's coming for them. No one escapes the Armada!"

END OF CHAPTER


	20. Legend of Angel Island

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY: THE LEGEND OF ANGEL ISLAND

Ever since the destruction of his Death Egg, things have been more quiet for the Freedom Fighters. But it didn't make it any less dangerous since they knew Eggman would come back for revenge with a different weapon next time. But the Freedom Fighters took more time to themselves. Though she enjoyed her time with her friends, and especially her boyfriend Sonic, there was still thing left unresolved: the location of the last Chaos Emerald.

Tails had warned her Sonic can't keep using the Fake Emeralds to substitute the seventh one, it would eventually stop to work. That meant Sonic would revert back to the demon Super Sonic once he tried to tap into the Emeralds power again. Besides, they couldn't let Eggman find it before them either. Sally has gone through some books and archives but didn't find anything.

She sighed as she didn't know what other books she could consult right now. She checked the section of mythology on another book. Oddly enough she only found a fairytale book. "This can't be all there is left? I mean, can I really find the answer to it all in a book with bedtime stories?" Sally said as she turned the pages either way. However when she stopped at a specific page, she got a surprised look on her face. "That's it! I got to show the rest."

The other Freedom fighters were watching a very amusing sight: Muttski trying to arm wrestle Amy. Muttski looked in pain and sweaty as Amy didn't seem to have any trouble, as her arm didn't move an inch, as she was reading a magazine, which she held in her other hand while wearing reading glasses. "Stop playing with him and beat him already." Fiona said. Amy then pinned down Muttski, making her the winner.

Muttski held his hand in pain as he moaned: "Muttski wants a rematch…ouch! Once Muttski's hand has healed."

It was then that Sally busted in: "Guys, I know where the final Chaos Emerald is!"

"Really? That's great news. Where is it then?" Sonic asked. Sally showed them the fairytale book. "Er…Sal, that's a book of fairytales."

"Yes, but fairytales are based on legends. The place where the Emerald lies is the legendary floating island known as Angel Island! The fairytale mentions a mystic gem. It has to be the Chaos Emeralds." Sally stated.

"But eet eez just a conte de fée. Are we really going to take zis serious?" Antoine asked.

"Legends are often based on the facts, same for fairytales. Besides, it talks about a mystic gem, if it's even remotely connected to the Chaos Emeralds, we have to take the risk." Tails said.

"Then it's settled. We're going to look for the flying island. Only problem: where do we start? If the island even exists, how will we find it? If it has been undiscovered for years, it has to have a reason." Sonic realized.

"We got Chaos Emeralds of our own, right? Maybe we can use those to track down the one that's on Angel Island? Since they're not in a different dimension, it should be possible right?" Fiona suggested.

"Fiona, that's brilliant. I could just kiss you!" Tails stated.

"Why don't you just do it, you're my boyfriend now." Fiona said seductively.

"Oh right…still getting used to it. Come here!" Tails said as he and Fiona kissed.

"I'm getting some ideas Sal…" Sonic said as he wrapped his arm around Sally. Both of them smiled as they kissed too.

"Muttski really needs a girlfriend." Muttski moaned. Amy and Lily hid behind Rotor as Bunnie and Antoine looked at each other blushing.

Much later, Tails brought everything to the hangar where Tori waited alongside a large airship. "Presenting the Freedom Fighter Special. Not advanced as Tori, but it gets the job done."

"I'm glad it exists cause I'm not carrying all of those guys and gals on my wings." Tori added.

"I also equipped Tori with a scanner that reacts to Chaos Energy, so we should find the Emerald." Tails explained.

"But how are we going to find that island. It can be everywhere around the world. Our search will be never ending." Rotor stated.

"I've dug up some files that concerned people who have seen unidentified flying objects or strange phenomena in the sky. We believe the island is at the source of those. Tails had deducted the route the flying island takes based on the time and place of the sightings." Sally explained.

"Is there a calculator inside ze head of Tails? Ze little guy never ceases to amaze moi." Antoine asked.

"Let's talk about my brainpower later and now focus on the mission. Unless it's Fiona, I love it when she flatters me…" Tails commented.

"What have I done? For the whole trip I'm going to listen to the lovebirds being lovy dovey…why did I think it was a good idea?" Tori muttered.

While Tails piloted Tori, with Fiona in the back seat and Sonic and Sally on the wings, the rest of the team was in the Freedom Fighters special, piloted by Lily. The gates of the hangars opened up and both air vessels took it to the skies. "Okay, this is it, time to whip out the Emerald detector!" Tails said as he dialed some buttons on the control panel, and the radar activated. "Okay, now let's head for the coordinates I've calculated and see if they're right."

The air vessels flew for a while, nothing going on. The radars hadn't picked up anything as of yet. "I think it's a lost cause, we're searching for hours!" Lily said to Tails over the communicators.

"This just can't be it…it was our only lead. Maybe my calculations were just wrong…" Tails said sadly.

"I'm glad you supported Sal's idea, lil bro, but it doesn't look like we'll find…" Sonic said, but before he finished, the radar started beeping. "…just some air and clouds cause your invention totally works!" Sonic finished.

"I don't see anything ahead, yet the radars say there is." Lily said over the communicators.

"I thought of that. I equipped my goggles with filters, allowing them to see past camouflage, illusions, the works!" Tails said as he turned his goggles, switching from normal to special vision. "I see it, I see the island float in the distance. Lily, switch yours on too!"

Lily has turned on the goggles Tails had given her, and to her it appeared as well: a huge island in the sky, the plant-covered rocky flying sky object, it was real. "I see it too…but how did it appear in those files if it's camouflaged?"

"I bet some rare occurrences like solar flares and stuff temporarily disrupted the invisibility veil surrounded it. But now we don't need to worry, once we pass the veil, we no longer need the goggles to see it!" Tails stated.

But as they approached the islands, they were surprised to see a really huge fleet or flying Eggman robots: Buzzers, Egg Saucers, Balkaries, Nebulas and Turtloids. "What? Eggman robots in this place? How can this be?" Tails wondered.

"No time to worry, we're going in. Prepare for battle anyone!" Sonic stated. Sonic jumped off the plane and homing attacked his way through several enemies.

"Sally, Fiona, there is some extreme gear in Tori's storage compartement. Lily has made some. There is also some Extreme Gear for everyone down the Freedom Fighter special." Tails instructed. Everyone grabbed some Extreme Gear and jumped off to help fight. Tails didn't need extreme gear, but took one for Sonic in case Sonic would run out of enemies to homing attack. While Tori was left on auto-pilot, Nicole controlled the Freedom Fighter special as Lily could also join in the sky fight.

Sonic had been homing in on some foes, as some of them got smart and moved back out of Sonic's reach, and Sonic appeared to fall until Tails flew in and handed the Extreme Gear to Sonic. Sonic jumped on it and used it to catch up with Eggman machines, Axe kick them before homing attack on them and landing back on his board. "Thanks bro!" Sonic said as he gave a thumbs up.

"No problem, big bro!" Tails said as he rushed at some Eggman robots and rammed them with his still spinning tails, sending them tumbling through the air and slamming them into other Eggman goons, destroying them.

Sally on her board, was spinning her tonfa to deflect the energy blasts fired at her by the flying Eggman robots. She then used her tonfa to bash at the Eggman bots, sending them plummeting towards the ground.

The only time Lily looked confidant was when she was on her hoverboard. And now she was in her element, she was very confident indeed. After doing flips, tricks and moves to dodge all laser fire, she tossed several feather darts at her foes, which exploded on impact.

Amy's archery skills came in handy as she from her hoverboard could take out the flying enemies from a distance. However, a few came close, and Amy didn't have time to reload her bow and instead used it to whack them hard, knocking them out of the air.

Antoine swung his sword, slicing the robotic minions to ribbons. One tried to sneak up on him, but it was blasted apart by Bunnie. "Thanks, ma chérie." He complimented.

"You're welcome sugah-twan. Let's try out that new attack we've practiced." Bunnie said as she grabbed Antoine's board, tossed him away, while Antoine performed a spinning attack with his sword and board, turning him into a tornado that cut all the machines to ribbons.

Fiona kicked all the goons that flew close to her. She pulled out her daggers, and cut the monsters to pieces. She picked up several severed pieces of the robots and used them to attack the other robots. She tossed a Turtloid shell and a Nebula propeller like projectiles, as using the severed abdomen of a Buzzer as a cannon to blast the others out of the sky.

Rotor relied on his missile launchers, as they were the easiest to use while on his hoverboard. After he ran out of missiles, a Buzzer flew closer towards him, but Rotor grabbed it by the throat, rammed a bomb in his torso and tossed him back at a group of flying enemies, the bomb exploding and taking down the whole group.

Muttski was on top of his hoverboard, and for an inexplicable reason he had a turtle costume. "Cowabunga!" Muttski shouted as he pulled out several weapons (don't ask, it's Muttski after all) like nunchucks, a sword, a bo staff and sais to slice and smash the enemies.

Tori and Nicole controlling the Freedom Fighter special just simply used their weapon systems to blast away the foes. When the last line of enemies was cleared, the Freedom Fighters returned to their ships and settled back in. "Did ya see me out there, I so blasted them into kingdom come!" Tori commented.

"All fine and dandy Tori, but we should wonder right now how Eggman's robots ended up on Angel Island. How did Eggman find the island before we did?" Tails wondered.

"One way to find out, get to the island and force the truth out of him!" Sonic stated.

"We better be careful, he might have set some traps on this island." Sally said suspiciously.

"No worries, we'll deal with it as it comes." Sonic assured her. They two planes approached the island and landed their planes. Tori and the FFS got themselves in camouflage mode as the Freedom Fighters prepared to explore the island.

"Okay everyone, we don't know how Eggman got here, but he's bound to have brought some nasty bots and traps along, so be careful!" Sonic warned the others as they headed further in the fern of the forest of the island.

However, they didn't know they were being watched by someone. "More invaders? Those who trespass on my island pay the ultimate price."

END OF CHAPTER


	21. The Guardian

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE GUARDIAN

The Freedom fighters had landed on Angel Island, a place believed having only existed in fairytales. But it was as real as can be as they had made their way towards it and landed. They were surprised however when they found the island being overrun by Eggman's machines.

As they wandered through the forest, still wondering how Eggman had found the island. However, Muttski's sensitive ears jerked. "Muttski hears someone following us!" he said.

"Is it one of Eggman's robots?" Sonic asked.

"No…Eggman's robots aren't so light on their feet." Muttski replied.

The Freedom Fighters were on their toes. They didn't know what the one following them had in store. "Come out wherever you are! We know you're there!" Sonic shouted out to the heavens.

"Don't antagonize him Sonic." Sally said.

Out of the fern of the trees jumped a red blur, who jumped to a few other treetops before he stood still on top of a tree. The being was Mobian, with red fur, dreadlock-like spines, tribal clothing and spiky boxing-gloves. "Go back!" he said.

"Whut?" Sonic asked.

"Go back, leave this island and never return. This is your last warning thieves!" he said.

"Thieves? We're not thieves, we haven't stolen anything." Tails stated.

"Not yet, but I know what you're here for, and I won't let you have it." The echidna said.

"We didn't want to steal it…we're trying to prevent someone else from getting it and abuse it's power." Sally stated.

"I don't believe you. You could be working for that mustached guy who has invaded my island and tainted it with the presence of his machines!" the echidna replied.

"Mustached…Dr. Eggman?" Tails wondered.

"So you know him? So you are on his side!" the echidna said as he jumped off the branch, glided at our heroes with his spiky fists forwards, our heroes scattered to avoid being on the receiving end of the spikes.

"Listen, we don't want to fight you…" Sonic said, trying to be reasonable.

"Then you'll be defeated!" the echidna said as ripped a tree stump out of the ground and tossed it at our heroes. They avoided being hit by it.

"Whoa, he's strong!" Fiona noted.

"That's it! If he wants a fight, he can have one." Sonic said as he rushed at the echidna. However, the echidna uppercut him and knocked him in the air, Sonic drops the box with Chaos Emeralds in the progress.

The echidna took it, and peeked inside: "I knew it, you've stolen the remaining emeralds and now you're after mine!".

"I didn't steal them, I earned them, give them back!" Sonic said.

"Make me!" the echidna said as he fled.

"After him!" Sonic said as he and the others chased the echidna. However, after chasing him down for a while, the echidna grabbed a gourd and poured the liquid contents on the floor, making Sonic slip on it and run into a tree. "Got to admit, he's pretty crafty."

"Muttski has echidna!" Muttski said as he got close to the echidna, he jumped up, Muttski couldn't stop and ended falling down a trap hole. "Echidna has Muttski!" he said as he fell down.

"Ah got him!" Bunnie said as she used her jet boosters to get close to the echidna, but he pulled out something from his pocket, a mushroom of sorts and tossed it in Bunnie's face, making it explode in a cloud of yellow spores. Bunnie fell down, but Antoine caught her.

"Bunnie, are you okay?" he asked her.

Bunnie wasn't hurt, but she had a weird look on her face, like she had too much alcohol. "Hey you know sugah-twan, you're really cute, and ah luv the way ya talk!" she said as a bit of drool left her left mouth corner. She then grabbed Antoine's butt.

"Ooh-la-la!" Antoine said embarrassed.

"Oh, ya got a nice tush! But ah also got a nice set of buns, wanna feel?" she said.

The remaining Freedom fighters still chased the echidna. "He's almost as fast as you and Sonic." Fiona commented.

"Yeah, almost!" Tails said as he cracked his tails and used them to gain a speed boost while running, tackling the echidna down on the ground and make him drop the emerald box. Sonic, having picked up himself and having caught up, has picked it up.

"Okay, red guy! I don't know what your problem is, but you got serious issues. Someone should put you back into your place." Sonic commented.

"I won't lose to you!" the echidna growled.

Sonic handed Tails the box of emeralds. "Tails hold these for me, I'm going to take this guy head on. The rest of you, don't interfere." Sonic said, sure of himself.

"Are you going to be okay?" Sally asked.

"Don't worry, I've dealt with guys tougher than him. Next to the death egg he should be a breeze." Sonic said. He then took a battle stance in front of the echidna. "Okay, you and me, right now. No tricks, no traps, just one to one with our own strength and techniques."

"Fine by me." The echidna said as she cracked his spiky knuckles. He rushed at Sonic, Sonic did the same. He tried deliver a punch, but Sonic ducked under it and spin-dashed in his stomach, knocking him back. But Knuckles grabbed the curled-up hedgehog in his hands and tossed him into a tree. Sonic shook his head to shake his daze of, as he saw the enraged echidna approach and rolled out of the way as the echidna punched right through the three, snapping it in half as it fell down.

As Sonic had avoided the punch, he delivered a powerful kick to the echidna, sending him flying. The echidna recovered and punched the ground, creating a crack that moved up to Sonic, as he sank into the ground. The echidna moved closer to a trapped Sonic, who vibrated himself out of his predicament and spin-dashed into the echidna, knocking him over. "You're not a bad fighter hedgehog." The echidna said.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself. You actually make me break a sweat." Sonic said cheekily. As Sonic looked at the echidna, he saw something behind him. "Look out!" Sonic said as he tackled the echidna to the ground. A bullet flew over them, which would have hit the echidna if Sonic didn't interfere.

Amy retaliated by taking out the robotic sniper out with one of her arrows. When the echidna realized what had gone on, he said this: "You saved me!"

"Duh! I guess you didn't want to have your brains splattered all over the floor." Sonic answered.

"If you saved me from one of those robots it means you're not on the same side as the robots' master." The echidna realized.

"That's what we've been trying to tell you the whole time!" Sonic said to him.

"I'm sorry, I take my duties a bit too serious at times. I apologize for my behavior." The echidna answered.

"Apologies accepted. So, what's your name?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know…one day, nearly a year ago, I just woke up from a long slumber without any memories. Only from ancient writing on the temple of the island, which isn't much as it is, I was able to deduce I'm destined to protect the island and the emerald in it." The echidna replied.

"We have to call him something, have we?" Tails stated. He thought for a moment. "How about 'Knuckles'?" he suggested.

"Because he's a knucklehead?" Sonic stated, the echidna had an annoyed look on his face.

"No, because of the spikes on the knuckles. And he's a tough fighter, so it fits I guess." Tails explained.

"Knuckles…well, can't think of anything better and it fits, so yeah, call me that if you want." Knuckles agreed.

"By the way, I'm Sonic, fastest thing alive. That's my little bro Tails, his girlfriend Fiona, Amy, Lily, Rotor and last but not least for sure, the greatest girl in the world, my girlfriend Sal!" Sonic introduced. Sally rolled her eyes but was clearly flattered.

"Reminds me, where are Muttski, Antoine and Bunnie?" Fiona wondered.

As if on cue, a tired looking Muttski and Antoine carrying a drunk on spores Bunnie came onto the scene. "Muttski doesn't remember how long it took to climb out of the pit." He said as he collapsed on the ground in front of them.

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, do-do-do-do, here they are all sitting in a bunch…" Bunnie sang drunkenly.

"Hey Twan, where have you been? We managed to convince this knucklehead we're not the bad guys!" Sonic said.

"Trying to get Bunnie 'ere, those spores are making her act…different (pronounce that last word in a French accent)." Antoine answered.

"I am being carried by the schmexiest coyote on Mobius! Tee-hee!" Bunnie laughed as she stood up, staggered around for a bit before she nearly fell if Sally didn't catch her. "Hey Sally-girl, you're my best friend in this whole darn world… Say haven't you made Sonic a man yet, if ya know what ah mean?"

"Er, the spores will eventually wear off, I don't mean to kill anyone, just neutralize them!" Knuckles stated a bit embarrassed.

"I guess Bunnie has to sit this one out then." Amy noted as she helped Sally carry her.

Muttski had woken up from his tiredness and saw the remains of the scrapped assassin. "Oh, did Sonic and guys fight robot?" Muttski asked.

"Yes, why?" Sonic reacted.

"Knowing Eggman, and the Freedom Fighters all know Eggman, where's one robot, there are always…" Muttski said, but was cut off when several Kama-Kama's, Asterons and Spikes jumped from the fern and shrubbery and surrounded them. "…more. Muttski just jinxed it, right?"

The heroes normally had no trouble dealing with the large group of enemies, since they were doing that since forever. However, they all forgot about the spore-drunk Bunnie (or actually have put her aside, telling her to stay put as they fought the robots) but Bunnie's head was screwy and she forgot she had to stay down. "Heya fellas, keep sum for me!" she said as she aimed her blaster, but due to her intoxicated state she missed and hit Sonic, who dropped his Emerald box again.

"Bunnie!" Sonic said annoyed.

"That's ma name sugah-hog! Hiccup!" she said as she fell over. The heroes could hear her snore, obviously stating she has fallen asleep.

Sonic tried to make his way for the Emerald box, but a few Eggman robots got in his way. As Sonic fought them off, something came down and snagged the Emerald box. It was a long retractable mechanical arm. It was attached to the Eggmobile, controlled by (not really surprising) Dr. Eggman. "Hello Freedom Fighters! Long time no see…or maybe it's not, I really lost my sense of time after YOU MADE ME SO MAD AFTER BLOWING UP MY DEATH EGG!"

"How did you get here before us? You couldn't have known about the fairytale!" Sonic asked.

"You see, when the Death Egg blew up, it was broken into pieces, which were scattered everywhere. One really big and relatively intact piece ended up here. It was intact enough to be detected by my scanners so I found my way to this invisible island. Now, with these Emeralds I'm going to complete my nearly-finished Death Egg Mark II and instead of rewriting history, I'll just burn everything on the surface of the planet to ashes and rebuilt my empire form it!" Eggman gloated.

"I won't let you Egghead!" Sonic said as he jumped for Eggman, only for Slicer to jump in his way and kick him off his master.

"I'm sorry I can't play with you now, hedgehog, but I have to oversee the construction of my new and improved superweapon." Eggman said as he tried flying off.

However, Knuckles jumped into the treetops and jumped up, gliding after Eggman. "I won't let you get away, not after you tainted the island with your presence!" He was about to touch him, but Knuckles was shocked by a forcefield Eggman has erected around him.

"I'm sorry, guardian. But I don't need your emerald anymore, so I have no time to play with you any longer. Ta-ta now!" Eggman said as he activated the thrusters of his Eggmobile and zoomed off in the distance. Knuckles plummeted towards the ground, hurt by the electric forcefield earlier.

"My job here is done…until next time hedgehog!" Slicer said as he bowed and left the Freedom Fighters to be. He had done as he was told, hold back the hedgehog as Eggman snatched the emeralds.

"Damn it! He has our emeralds!" Sonic cursed.

"Didn't you hear what he said? He said he didn't need the one Knuckles has anymore. But why? He knows using the Emeralds when the set is incomplete is dangerous." Sally stated.

"Not unless you have something to stabilize it, like the fake emerald. Don't know if Eggman created one, he might have created a something to substitute for it." Tails deduced.

"But he left us with one emerald, so why would he allow us to keep it?" Sonic wondered.

"Because one against six and a stabilizer is not exactly even odds." Knuckles reminded him.

"Correction, one Chaos Emerald and a Time Stone. However, we haven't figured out how to work the Time Stone yet." Tails said.

"We might have to learn sooner than later, the Death Egg must never rise again. We are going out there and take it down before it takes to the skies! And we take the emeralds back. Are you with us, Knuckles?" Sonic said.

"Of course, if you can keep up!" Knuckles stated.

"I wanted to say the same about you…" Sonic said with a grin. There was obviously a friendly rivalry going on between the two.

"Okay, we need to work on an attack plan and fast, the doctor himself bragged it's nearly finished. But we'll show him we won't give up!" Sally said.

END OF CHAPTER


	22. Seven Emeralds in hand

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: SEVEN EMERALDS IN HAND

Knuckles had brought the Freedom Fighters to a temple, where the Chaos Emerald was located, as well as where the guardian lived. "Welcome to my abode. It's not much, but it's all I have." He said.

"I think it's nice. The ancient echidna architecture…it's beautiful." Sally complimented.

"Thanks. In this temple resides the Emerald. From what I could get from the remaining writing (points at the damaged walls, only a few signs visible) this emerald keeps the island afloat. If taken from its place, the island would plunge back to the surface." Knuckles explained.

"So that's probably why Eggman didn't take it away just yet…if the island drops, his Death Egg's also done for." Sonic noted.

"There is one thing I'd like to ask of you, are there other echidnas on Mobius?" he asked.

The Freedom Fighters looked awkwardly at each other. None of them had ever seen an echidna before, at history class they were told the last echidna vanished thousands of years ago. "I'm sorry…" Sally said, thinking it was better to tell the truth.

"It's okay, I had the feeling you would answer that. Now I also know why I'm the only one on this island." Knuckles said. He then turned to the grey Chaos Emerald on the pedestal. "But now it's not the time to lament, we need to stop Eggman. The Chaos Emerald may be the only thing we can use to fight him…but how to remove it without making the island fall?"

"We could temporarily substitute it for something else…maybe the Time Stone?" Sonic wondered.

"We might need the Time Stone as well. I have an idea, but it's risky…we brought a few Power Rings right? If we take the spare ones and link them? It should temporarily keep the island afloat, but we'll have to use the remaining Power Rings wisely after that." Tails suggested.

"Only one way to find out…" Sonic said as he pulled out a few power rings, and chained them together. He then moved towards the Emerald, ready to make a quick swap of the rings and the emerald. Everyone nodded, giving Sonic the sign to try. Sonic swiped the Emerald and placed the Power Ring Chain, and nothing happened. Everyone sighed in relief, the island was afloat. But not for long if the heroes didn't move fast.

"Okay, we got the emerald, but now we need to move fast, and defeat Eggman." Sally stated.

At that point Bunnie, who was carried there by Antoine, grabbed her head. "Ow, ma achin' head…oh no! Ah remember, I groped sugah-Twan! Ah'm so ashamed." She said.

"No it's my fault, I used the Daze Shroom on you. I'll give you a drink against the headache, and then I'll help your friends stop the Death Egg." Knuckles added.

"Besides…I didn't really mind it." Antoine said blushing.

"Let's give the drink to her and move on before things get awkward." Fiona said.

Later on, the heroes had gathered with Knuckles in some aquatic ruins that were on the island. From the ruins they had a view of Eggman's makeshift launch bay, the Death Egg visible in the distance. It lacked Eggman's face this time, but it was rounder, black and looked more advanced than last time. "Damn that thing looks dangerous." Sonic noted.

"All the more reason to stop it. But it's not finished, so we can still destroy it before it reaches full power." Sally said.

"So, what we'll do?" Fiona asked.

"We have no time for a detailed plan so we'll need just do what we do best: we'll sneak in, and then we improvise, anything to take it down." Sally answered.

"My cup of tea." Sonic said with a smirk on his face. The Freedom Fighters didn't hesitate, they charged forwards from the ruins and rushed at the base, before hiding away in some surrounding fern around the base.

"As far as I can see, he has all kinds of robotic guards and Badniks, but also there are some patrol and combat vehicles…" Tails said. He took out a scanner as he said: "and judging from my scanner, the chaos emeralds haven't been installed inside that thing yet. I guess the power source is the last part."

"So, we scout the area, try to avoid a fight, until we have found the power core. When we find it, we'll try to pry the emeralds from it, and then we use them to lay waste to this base." Sally suggested. With that said, they all moved out.

Antoine and Bunnie moved down a series of containers. "Ah know it aint the good time, sugah-Twan…but you sure when ya said ya didn't mind me touchin' your butt when ah was drunk on that mushroom?" Bunnie asked.

Antoine sighed. "I never mind anythink you do, ma southern belle…eet eez stupid but everythink you do, from the wonderful to the less wonderful thinks. You remember when we first met? You 'ave saved moi from those bullies at school. You were such a strong girl and I was ashamed I was never strong enough to help you back."

"You've always been strong, you just hadn't found it." Bunnie stated.

"I wanted to become strong to find you, cause I missed you a lot when Eggman took you. I was even more impressed that after all zis time, after you've been through, you keep strong and have not changed…on ze inside that is." Antoine stated.

"What are ya getting' at, sugah-Twan?" she asked him.

"Bunnie, je t'aime…I love you." Antoine replied.

Bunnie stared at him, both her normal and cybernetic eye wide. "Y-y-ya love me? But…ahm a freak…ahm damaged goods! Ahm a cyborg." She stammered.

"Is zat of importance? I still think you are beautiful. And eet eez not your looks that makes you très belle, it's your kindness, your sweetness, your strength." Antoine said.

"But sugah-twan…a relationship with me aint really practical. Ah have implant on the inside too. Ah can't bear children, my body is a toxic environment as that. Ah probably won't live as long as the rest of ya with these implants." Bunnie said.

"A life without you, longue or court (long or short) ma belle fleur, would only be empty without you. And we can still adopt if eet gets so far." Antoine explains.

"Ya thought that far ahead? You really want me to be a part of ya life like that?" Bunnie asked.

"Does thees answer ton question?" he said as he pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the lips.

When they broke apart, Bunnie asked baffled: "Sugah-twan, that was wonderful, but why are you sayin' me this now?"

"Because every day can be our last, and I will not waste any more. I 'ave seen what la vie is about when I see Sonic and Sally, and Tails and Fiona: eet eez about l'amour." Antoine said as he pulled her closer for a kiss again.

A single Kama-Kama walked in on this, stared at the two in wide eyes, as they quickly broke apart. The Kama-Kama slowly turned around, trying to get away, but he was blasted to smithereens by Bunnie's blaster. "We can smooth some more later sugah-twan. Now we have a mission."

Tails and Fiona were sneaking at a holding bay for various battle vehicles. They saw two robots, a robotic chicken and a drill-nosed robot with tank tracks for feet washing a tank. "We should be the top of Eggman's army but instead we're assigned to cleaning duties, I hate it!" the robot chicken said in a grating voice.

"Me too Scratch. You know, if Eggman wasn't so scary, we just could leave and get a different job, one more suiting to us, one that pays better and has better working conditions." The drill-nosed robot said in a dumb-sounding voice.

"We don't get paid at all, Grounder. The only reward we get is that we don't end up the scrap heap." Scratch reminded him.

"Er…I knew that!" the drill nosed robot replied.

Tails and Fiona had snuck up to the bickering robots and hit them in the back of their heads, knocking them out. "I don't know what Eggman smoked when he created these two…but with them out cold, we can hijack this tank and use it to patrol around the area unnoticed." Tails said.

"But we don't have a key." Fiona stated.

"Just some rewiring will work just as well." Tails stated.

Amy and Lily came across a roster that led to the ventilation system of the Launch Base. "From there we would have a good view of the base." Amy said as she tried to pull out the grate, but it was pretty solid. "Oof, that's a good rack." She said, referring to the roster.

"Yes you have…I mean yeah, looks solid. I don't have a screwdriver but…" Lily said as she pulled out one of her darts, removed the explosive parts and used one's point and used it to screw loose the screws. "After you." she said as she let Amy crawl in first. As Amy crawled behind Amy, she got a good view of the princess' behind. "Yep, we definitely got a good view from here." Lily muttered to herself.

Knuckles was prowling around with Rotor and Muttski. "This is normally not my style, I'm always for the direct approach, this sneaking around makes me nervous." Knuckles moaned.

"C'mon Knuckles! You can be like…" Muttski said as in a puff of smoke he changed costumes to… "A ninja, and ninjas are cool, isn't it?"

"How does he work?" Knuckles asked.

"We don't know that ourselves and we are friends with him most of our lives. If anything about Muttski, never question anything, even if we find answers, they'd just confuse us more."

Sonic and Sally were the last team to go around. But they were the ones with the most success, as they saw it: a huge piece of machinery, which looked like a foot piece and a huge bar. On the foot piece, the six emeralds were placed and around the bar part, seven huge power rings, bigger than normal were wrapped. They were using a crane to try and lift the huge thing on a truck. "Extra large power rings, so that's how he's going to do it." Sonic noted.

"We have to lure them away…we must cause chaos around this place, disrupt everything so we can get the emeralds back." Sally stated.

"My kind of thing. Warn the others. They'll love to cause some trouble. As for I…let's do it to it!" Sonic said as he rushed at the robots operating the crane and scrapped them.

Sally installed Nicole somewhere in a powerline as she said: "Nicole, try to disrupt as much as you can in the digital realms. I'll open communications with the others. (dials some buttons) guys, we need major distractions now! Just trash the place!" Sally said.

"All right Sally-girl!" Bunnie said as she started blasting everywhere with her arm cannons, while Antoine started slashing everywhere around him, scrapping robots after robots.

"Finally something I can do!" Knuckles said as he rushed at a patrol vehicle and flipped it upside down with the robots in it, slamming it into another one, blowing both up.

"What shall Muttski do?" Muttski said as a thought balloon with tiny grinding gears appeared in it. Muttski grabbed the gears from the word balloons and tossed them like projectiles, which embedded themselves in the chests and heads of robots.

"How did…" Knuckles asked Rotor.

"Don't ask! Seriously…" Rotor said as he pulled out some bombs. He tossed them around at the robots, and blew them to smithereens. "Not all my bombs need to be fancy, sometimes they just need to blow crap up!" Rotor said as he took delight in the explosions of the robots.

Nicole, in her digital realm, on her data-board floated around and cut programs apart with her digital blades. "If you think hacking things my style is easy, you're dead wrong." She muttered to herself as she saw some stronger looking programs heading her way, as she charged data blasts in her hands before unleashing it and deleting them. "But it's sure fun!"

Tails and Nicole used the snagged tank to blast around, blowing up other tanks and vehicles around the area. "You know Fi, you have a knack for snatching vehicles and using them against the foes. I like it!" Tails noted.

"Now you mention it…don't care, die metal bastards die!" Fiona replied.

"I think you enjoy this a bit too much…burn, baby, burn! Oh, now I got it too." Tails replied.

Sonic had destroyed the robots operating the transport of the generator. He moved towards it, ready to take the Emeralds from it, as something appeared out of nowhere and knocked Sonic back. It was Eggman's newest mech, which was a big modified Eggmobile with very huge mechanical arms. "Hi Sonic, I knew you'd show up. By the way, you know my newest plaything, the Big Arm. Generic I know, but not as generic as having 'hedgehog' as your family name!" Eggman mocked.

"Jig's up Egghead, I destroyed your previous Death Egg, I can destroy this one too! But first that ridiculous looking mecha and you!" Sonic stated.

"Normally it would be used to empower my space station but…" Eggman said as his mecha grabbed the core and connected it to the bottom of the Big arm. "I'll use it to empower my mech to destroy you."

"Not going to stop me!" Sonic said as he rushed at Eggman, jumped up and tried to home in on him. However, the mech just backhanded him and sent him flying. "Okay, that didn't work. In that case, let's go for a spin!" Sonic said as he ran around really fast, creating a tornado to engulf Eggman's mech. However, it grabbed the ground with its massive hands and remained in place. Sonic used this moment of distraction to try an Axe Kick, but he only ended up hurting his foot.

"Foolish rodent, it's Megatal, and it's only more durable with the Chaos Energy and the Power Ring Matrix of my Chaos Ring Engine." Eggman gloated. Eggman's mech's hands spouted spikes as he tried to punch Sonic, but he dodged.

The blue hedgehog spoke in his communicator: "Guys, I can use some help, Eggman has a new mech and has connected it to the power core he made from the emeralds and he's really tough now." Sonic stated.

Sally was fighting of some robots protecting Nicole's handheld. As she wacked some robots with her bo staff, she spoke into the communicator: "Sorry Sonic, I'm quite busy here."

"I can help, Fi can pilot this tank alone for a while." Tails said as he crawled out of the tank. "Duty calls somewhere else Fi. You just have fun here!" he said as he flew off.

"You bet I will…die!" she replied as she continued blasting the robots.

"Knuckles, me and Muttski can handle these robots. You can use your strength to assist Sonic?" Rotor asked the guardian.

"Okay, these robots aren't much of a challenge anyway." Knuckles said as he left, as Muttski continued to pull stuff out of nowhere, like a kitchen sink and used it to whack at foes, as Rotor just caused more explosions.

Sonic was sent flying by another punch from the Big Arm as he landed painfully. "He-he-he! With the emeralds on my side, I'll be unstoppable, and even more when you're no longer here to oppose me." Eggman gloated.

"Oh yeah, I'm not alone in this!" Sonic said as he pointed behind Eggman. Knuckles came in and punched the mech, sending it flying back slightly with his strength as Tails crawled on top of the mecha's back and tried to loosen some parts with his tools. But Eggman's mech grabbed Tails and tossed him into Knuckles.

"Okay guys, let's divide his attention, let's attack all at once." Sonic said as the three rushed at Eggman at once. Sonic homing attacked, but the mech caught him in one of his massive hands. But then Tails moved in and planted a wrench in the joint of the arm, blocking it's movement as Knuckles pummeled on the faceplate. But the other arm of the mech grabbed Knuckles, but Tails had pulled Sonic loose from the mecha's grip as he lifted Sonic in the air and tossed Sonic at the mech in the same spot where Knuckles had hit him. Knuckles then pulled himself loose as Eggman was distracted as he jumped on top of the mech and ripped one of the spikes from the top. Eggman knocked both Sonic and Knuckles of him with his arms, but Tails grabbed the spike Knuckles pulled loose and jammed it in the faceplate of the mech.

"ENOUGH!" Eggman said as his mech glowed, green electricity formed in his hands and he zapped the trio, hurting them badly as they collapsed on the ground, barely moving and with various burns and bruises. "He-he-he…not so tough now are you?" Eggman said maliciously.

"We're not strong enough…and even with the power of the Chaos Emerald we have we can't stand up to that mech. If only I knew what to do with the Time Stone." Tails wondered.

"I got an idea Tails, it's risky…but it's our only chance. Hand me the Stone!" Sonic said. Tails barely managed to move enough to pull the Time Stone out and hand it to Sonic. "On the count of three, we move at the mech. You'll know when you follow me…One…" Sonic said as the three managed to stand up, Eggman's mech charging energy in his hands. "Two…" Sonic said, lifting the Time Stone as Eggman's mech lifted the hands above its head to unleash the energy.

"Three!" Sonic said as he concentrated as hard as he could, thinking of the fate of the world being at stake, the Time Stone responded and a wave of energy filled the area, giving everything a gray tone and slowing everything down except for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. "Now's our change, head to the engine!" Sonic said. The trio used the moment of time temporarily being halted to move towards the Chaos Ring Engine. Sonic pulled out Knuckles' emerald as he smashed it in the engine and started tapping in the emeralds' power. Tails and Knuckles put their hands on Sonic's shoulders, helping him with their thoughts to tap in the power.

A surge of Chaos Energy enveloped the area, as Eggman's mecha fell to the ground, the emeralds no longer inside the engine and the huge power rings lying on the ground. Eggman's mech was otherwise unharmed, but not for long…Eggman looked up and saw three super-powered Mobiand in front of him: Sonic glowing golden, Tails glowing orange and sporting a red cape, while Knuckles had a green glow.

"Super Sonic!"

"Turbo Tails!"

"Chaos Knuckles!"

The three introduced themselves that way. Eggman looked horrified, but still wouldn't admit defeat. He launched a punch with the mech's arm, but Super Sonic caught it in his own hands and easily blocked it. "Let's play catch!" Sonic said as he tossed the mech upwards, and then warped right next to it as he kicked at it, sending it in Tails' direction: "Heads up, little bro!"

"Got it!" Tails said as he caught the mech in his namesakes, before juggling Eggman between the two Tails. Eggman looked as he was about to get sick as Tails began spinning around the mech on the tip of his left tail as he said: "Hey Knuckles, wanna try too?" he said as he tossed Eggman at him.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Knuckles said as he grabbed Eggman's arm and started slamming the mech in the ground over and over again. He then lifted Eggman above him as he gave him one big uppercut, sending him flying up.

The three then super-rushed at Eggman's mech, Sonic spin-dashing in the air, turning into a golden buzzsaw, Tails using his tails in a spin attack and Knuckles spinning his arms forward in circles, making the three a spinning force of destruction. They came in contact with the mech and it was immediately turned to scrap.

Eggman fell out of the mech and landed on the ground. He spoke in his communicator: "Slicer, activate the emergency teleportation systems, remove the Death Egg before they destroy it! And teleport me out too while you're at it!" Eggman ordered.

Slicer, who has been inside the Death Egg with Buzzbomber and Crabmeat to make some preparations, answered: "But sir, it has little reserve energy without the Engine, we don't know where we'll end up."

"I don't care, if I ask you to jump, you have to say 'how high?' Now get us out, that thing is my key to victory, and I won't let it get destroyed again." Eggman insisted.

"Okay sir…" Slicer said, being worried at Eggman's unusual state of mind.

The three super-powered Mobians looked at the Death Egg. "One more thing to scrap, let's get it!" Sonic said. Tails and Knuckles agreed as they prepared to rush at it, only for the thing to vanish instantly in front of them. "No! The coward teleported it away."

"Maybe we can find it before the Super Form wears out…" Tails suggested, but that didn't go well as they started to lose their new coloring. "Or maybe not…" he said disappointed as they floated towards the ground, where they powered down and the Emeralds left their bodies, but this time the Emeralds were much bigger, they were now big enough to be held in the palm of one's hand.

"Now the emeralds have been reunited after so long, their true power and size have been unlocked. Their power is infinite, but the power they grant one is not. The emeralds will stay until the threat is averted, before they part ways again…Only use the power when needed!" Espik's voice sounded from within the emeralds.

The other Freedom Fighters have caught up with the trio of heroes. "Tails, I saw you from a distance but I could tell it was you. You have a super form? That's so awesome! And that cape looked so dashing." Fiona complimented.

"Thanks." Tails said.

"And the guardian can transform as well? Sounds logical since he is guardian of the emerald and all…wow, did those things grow. They are at least three times as big now!" Rotor stated, pointing at the Emeralds.

"And those rings…they were part of Eggman's power core right? They have the same colors as the emeralds. You think they absorbed some of their essence?" Sally said, pointing at the huge Power Rings who now have the same colors as the emeralds: green, blue, cyan, red, purple, yellow and grey.

"We might keep those rings, they might prove useful in the future." Tails suggested.

"Yeah they will, as will the emeralds and the time stone. Because Eggman escaped with the Death Egg. It has no power source right now, but it's still lethal. I don't know where he's hiding, but we must find him and destroy his space station before he can repower it." Sonic said serious as ever.

"They're still on the island, I can sense it. I know everything going on in the chaos force around the island…I guess you want to finish the job and stay here until the giant machine is destroyed, right?" Knuckles stated.

"Yes we are, hope you don't mind?" Sally asked.

"I want that machine off my island as well, and those who share my goals are my allies. Besides, I haven't had much company the year I've been awake…"

"Then we dub you a honorary Freedom Fighter, welcome to the bunch, knucklehead." Sonic said as he reached out his hand in friendship.

"You're welcome, spikey!" Knuckles said as he shook his hand.

Tails noticed Bunnie and Antoine holding hands. "You two are finally together?"

"Finally? You knew this would happen sugah-hog?" Bunnie asked.

"I'm a smart guy, what can I say? Except that you two are made for each other and I know you'll be very happy together." Tails stated.

"Love in the air is a good thing. In a loveless world Eggman tries to create we have to value it as it is. So enjoy the silent moments, cause once the silent is over, the calm before the storm ends." Sally stated.

"We will." Bunnie and Antoine said.

"Now, let's put that grey Emerald back on the pedestal before the Ring Chain wears off. Then we wait…and plan ahead for if Eggman shows his ugly head again." Sonic said.

END OF CHAPTER


	23. Dulcy

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: DULCY

Inside the Death Egg, which was hidden at an unknown location on Angel Island, there was some work to be done. Without the Chaos Emeralds or a decent Power Ring Matrix they couldn't power the Death Egg properly. But the Death Egg had multiple functions. It also served as a temporary base, so inside were also a laboratory, a factory and a prison quarters.

"Prepare the prisoners for conversion into Badniks." A robotic guard said. There were some prisoners Eggman had captured prior to coming to Angel Island, but when he found out about the island he had delayed his plans to turn them into Badniks, but now it would seem the day of reckoning was onto these prisoners. Amongst them was a cute komodo dragon Mobian girl. She had her spines up in a pink Mohawk of sorts and she had a nose piercing. She wore jeans, a pink t-shirt and purple shoes.

"I'm not going to be a Badnik! I won't, I won't!" she screamed as the egg-shaped cycloptic robot guards, with surprisingly slight trouble, pulled her along. During the scuffle, they saw Scratch and Grounder, cleaning the hallway with their mops, as the lizard girl stepped with her foot in a bucket, getting stuck. "Oh darn it!" she said a she tried to kick off the bucket, only for it to fly off and knock over one of the guard bots.

"Oops…" she said as she took a few steps backwards, only to slip on a bar of soap, sliding down the hallway, right for a door guarded by two robots, which both were knocked down as the lizard girl bumped into them. As she heard more guard robots approaching, she looked around in panic, swiped a key card from the knocked down guards as she entered the room and locked it. "Oh…I've locked myself in. Not so smart of me, what am I going to do?"

She looked around and saw a vast collection of treasures and artifacts in this room. "Oh, the evil dictator is a collector?" the lizard girl wondered. She looked around at ancient weaponry, fancy armor and various expensive looking stuff. One particular one drew her attention. A golden gauntlet with five small round gemstones encrusted in the knuckle parts. "Oh…pretty!" she noted as she picked it up.

Then several guard robots barged in the room and surrounded her. "Er…stay back, I got this metal glove thingy and I'm going to use it!" she said as she put the gauntlet on her hand, and points it at them, hoping to intimidate them. However the gauntlet started to shrink and morph to adapt to her hand's shape and size. "Whoa…how did it do that?" she said. She tried to get it off, but it was stuck on her hand. "What the…darn it! It's stuck!" she said as she tried to get it off. The red encrusted gemstone on the knuckle of her index finger started to glow and from the fingertips of the gauntlet, a stream of fire shot out and melted some of the robots to a puddle.

"Holy Walkers!" she said as she looked at the gauntlet wide-eyed. The remaining robots charged at her, but she points the gauntlet at them again, the blue gem on the knuckle of her middle finger glowed and froze them in a block of ice. "Whoa…now to get out of here." She said as she left the room and started running. More guard robots got in her way in the corridor. She reached out her hand, and tried to use fire again, but it didn't work. "C'mon you stupid thing! FIRE!" she said as fire came once again from the fingertips, melting the robots. "Great. Now to get out…" she thought as she looked around. She melted a wall down and jumped out of the Death Egg, as suddenly the pink gemstone on her pinky's knuckle glowed and she started to fly. "Whoa, I can fly! I'm so out of here!" she said happily as she flew away.

Several Egg Saucers were deployed to chase after her. She turned around and said: "Can't you just leave me alone?" as she fired another stream of fire from her hand, but after melting the saucers, she lost her flight and started to head for the ground. "Oh no, not now please…I just had my freedom back." she thought. As the thought of freedom filled her head, she started to float again. "Oof, now to get out of this dump." She said as she flew away.

The heroes were sightseeing on Angel Island. It was night, with a starry sky, but under the starry sky, the island looked beautiful, Knuckles showing them around. "It's so nice to see an ecosystem largely undamaged by any of Eggman's factories or machines." Sally noted.

"Yeah, I live here for a year, or at least a year with my memories, but I still can get enchanted by the beauty." Knuckles noted.

They then saw some dinosaur-like creatures, only the size of cows, grazing and enjoying a midnight snack. These were dragons, and not the flying firebreathing kind, but for Mobians, 'dragon' is a term for descendants of Mobosaurs who are smaller than their ancestors. "Whoa, Chompteria! This subspecies of dragon should be extinct for centuries!" Tails said impressed.

"I just call them 'Chomps', because of their appetite. They are generally harmless." Knuckles said as he moved towards one of them and petted one. He grabbed a huge chunk of grass and fed the Chomp, who happily devoured the greens.

"A shame we can't stay here, once that Death Egg is destroyed, we'll have to return to the surface to wipe out other Eggman factories…I just hope one day the surface can look like this place again: green, bright and happy." Sonic said.

"Oh, a shooting star, make a wish!" Fiona stated as she pointed in the sky. Yes, there was indeed a shooting star.

"You must know it's just a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere due to friction of…" Rotor stated, but he was cut off.

"Oh come on, Rotes! It gives us something to hold on to, this is a time of war after all. Isn't there something you'd wish for, anything at all?" Sonic reminded his friend.

Rotor pondered for a moment before he said: "There is one thing…but it's quite silly actually." He said.

"Muttski is silly too, but we don't mind him, so spit it out." Sonic assured him.

"I want to experience what it's like…what you and Sally have, Tails and Fiona, Bunnie and Antoine, I want to know what it feels like to be in love. Something that cannot be grasped by the mind, only felt, that one special thing…sounds corny isn't it?" Rotor answered.

"Corny is part of being in love. Believe me, we know." Tails answered.

"But it's not like I can say: 'I wish to meet that special one to love', and a beautiful girl falls from the sky!" Rotor stated.

"Look out below!" a voice said as something fell from the air, collided with Rotor and tackled him to the ground. When Rotor regained his senses, he found himself to be surprised to have the komodo dragon girl in his arms. Everyone was baffled.

"Muttski wishes for a motorcycle!" Muttski said as he looked at the sky and reached out his arms, waiting for a car to fall out and fall in front of him. But nothing happened. "Muttski never has any luck." The poor guy thought that if it worked for Rotor, it would have worked for him.

"I'm sorry about this, I haven't learned how to land properly yet. But at least someone big and strong broke my fall, thanks for that." The komodo dragon girl said as she helped Rotor get up.

Rotor had a blush in his face. "Are you an angel, since you fell from the sky and all…"

The girl giggled at the comment. "No you silly. I'm Dulcy. Dulcy Dragon. Not those dragons (points at the Chomps) but Komodo dragon." She said.

"I'm Boomer, but my friends call me Rotor. Speaking off, here are my friends: Sonic, Sally, Tails, Fiona, Knuckles, Muttski, Lily, Amy, Bunnie and Antoine. Oh, and the computer in Sally's hand is called Nicole. We're the Freedom Fighters." Rotor introduced.

"Freedom Fighters? That group of rebels fighting the Eggman Empire? That's so cool! Nice meeting you all." Dulcy greeted.

"Where do you come from, Dulcy? How did you get on this island?" Sonic asked.

"I was captured by Eggman's forces, like many of my village. I was about to be turned into a Badnik hours ago but through dumb luck and my own clumsiness I surprisingly managed to escape. Oh, and this little thing I found in a treasure room helped." Dulcy said as she waved the gauntlet around.

"I might have seen it before in some mythology books while I was studying the possible location of the Chaos Emerald…but I can't put my finger on it what exactly it is." Sally noted.

"This thing is actually really cool, I can shoot fire, shoot ice and…FLY!" Dulcy said as suddenly she hovered of the ground. "Whoa, I didn't mean to fly. I want to be back on the ground." She said as she suddenly dropped down. "Oof what a relief."

"She just defied the laws of gravity, remarkable!" Rotor pointed out.

"And it's not all I can do. Every time I used a power I notice one of these gems glow. I know what the red and blue ones do, and this pink one, but I wonder what the green and yellow ones do…" Dulcy said as she pointed at the green gem on the knuckle of her rings finger and the yellow one on the joint of her thumb.

She had accidentally pointed at the gauntlet at Rotor as the green gem glowed, and Rotor was briefly engulfed in a green glow and he blurted: "I think you're really cute Dulcy…" the glow then died down as he slapped his hands in front of his mouth, embarrassed as he said: "I'm sorry, I don't know what came into me."

"Er…I don't mind, but I don't know how I did that, but I now it had to do with the green gem thingy here." Dulcy said, floating briefly again as she heard the compliment. She started pointing the gauntlet at the other Freedom Fighters.

"My full name is Maurice Olgilvie Hedgehog…whoa, why did I just say that?" Sonic said.

"I got a birthmark in the shape of South Island on my bum. Oh I didn't want anyone to hear that." Sally said embarrassed.

"I'm bisexual! Oh dear…" Fiona said. The others looked at her a bit baffled. "Yeah, I'm bi, deal with it!" she said annoyed.

"None of us thinks any less of you because of it, we're just surprised." Amy said. Lily quickly moved as far from Dulcy as she could, not wanting to be subjected to the gauntlet as well.

"I don't mind at all…" Tails said as he grabbed a handkerchief from his belt and pressed his nose against it to stop a nosebleed he was having. Once he was done, he put it back as he said: "As long you still love me."

"Of course I do…but seriously, what's with that gauntlet she's wearing?" Fiona said.

"I think I know what it is now. It's the Hand of Fate. An artifact that taps into the emotions of its wearer, granting one of pure heart five different powers: fire, ice, truth, flight and wind." Sally realized.

"Now you mention it, when I was angry or annoyed, I shot fire from this thing, and when I calmed down I could shoot ice. As I got out the Death Egg I was happy so I floated. And I was curious when I activated this truth thing. I wonder how I activate the wind thing." Dulcy replied.

"I don't know how Eggman got it, but he clearly couldn't use it since he was not of pure heart. Can you take it off, so we can study it?" Tails asked.

"I can't, already tried, it's stuck on me." Dulcy stated.

Tails moved closer to investigate it and looked at the gauntlet. "I think she's right, judging from sight, this thing has fused onto her very skin. It's part of her now in a way."

"Say, with those powers of her she could be a nice addition to our team of Freedom Fighters. What do you say, Dulcy?" Sonic suggested.

"What? But…I shouldn't be having this thing on me in the first place. I only wanted to escape Eggman. I can't even fight, the only reason I escaped was dumb luck. I am not exactly handy you know." Dulcy said.

"You'll do fine, I mean you managed to learn how to control that gauntlet fast enough to cover your escape, that's quite impressive. Besides, I wasn't always handy as well you know, my size and girth didn't make me very agile of maneuverable, but I've learnt to use it to my advantage." Rotor stated.

"You really think so?" Dulcy asked Rotor, feeling flattered by his confidence.

"Sure, you'll need some practice, but if you could escape the Death Egg…I mean that's not an easy feat you know. Besides, the Hand chose you. It must mean you must be of pure heart." Rotor replied.

Dulcy stared at the gauntlet for a while as she asked: "So, with these powers I can help you fight Eggman's empire? You mean I can save people and prevent the big bad himself from harming more people? I can save the people of my village?" she asked them. They all nodded. She thought for a few seconds as she said: "I'm not the best girl the gauntlet could have ended up with, but since I'm now really close to it, I'll make best of it, I want to try and help! That Eggman guy has been doing those bad things for way too long. I'm in!"

"In that case, welcome to the Freedom Fighters, I hope you'll like it with us." Rotor said as she shook her hand.

Dulcy took another good look at Rotor as she said: "I'm sure I will." With a smile on her face.

"I guess someone's wish came true after all…I have a good feeling about these two, instant chemistry!" Sally whispered to Sonic.

"I agree. Besides, he deserves it." Sonic whispered back.

"Now I think of it, you escaped the Death Egg? Then you must know where it is! We've been trying to find that thing and destroy it." Knuckles stated.

"Oh right, almost forgot about it! You remember where it is, Dulcy?" Sonic asked.

"Oh…er, it was somewhere at a hillside, inside some white marble ruins." Dulcy answered.

"The Marble Garden Zone! There's where we need to go!" Knuckles said.

"Okay Dulcy, lead us the way, it's time to take out the Death Egg before it can be powered. We can't let Eggman use it!" Sally asked.

"Aye-aye, ma'am! Follow me!" Dulcy said as she led the way.

They later came across the green hills with the marble ruins. "It's somewhere around here, it was somewhere underground…if only I could remember where the entrance was, the ruins are so alike." Dulcy said.

"Underground tunnels…guess I still don't know all the secrets of this island yet." Knuckles noted.

"Could you remember seeing something at the entrance before you left? A specific plant, a shape or…" Sally asked.

"I remember…a top! Sounds weird but…" Dulcy said shyly.

"Oh, the transporter top! A piece of tech I suspect to be designed to guide people around. It has helped me several times. Wait a sec!" Knuckles said before he whistled and a big flying top, big enough for someone to stand on, popped out. "Hey top, can you bring us to the giant egg-shaped space station around here?" Knuckles asked. The top glowed and flickered, gesturing the heroes to follow it.

"Impressive. I've read the echidnas were ahead of their time but…" Tails noted.

"Well, I haven't seen much of the tech of my people, it must be hidden like the rest, but this top is still around." Knuckles said. They followed the top to a bunch of white broken pieces of marble. The top stopped in front of the pile.

"So this pile of rocks hides the entrance. Let's see." Tails said he studied the rock pile. Rotor just pulled out a bomb of sorts, tossed it at the rock pile, and it spread a gas that eats the rocks away, revealing a door to the underground. "That works too." Tails stated.

"That's a fancy explosive, you made it yourself?" Dulcy said impressed.

"Yep, explosives, demolitions and weapons, that's my specialty." Rotor said, fumbling a little.

"Bet you can make some nice fireworks go off…" Dulcy said seductively. Rotor blushed.

"C'mon guys, let's check it out." Sonic said as he and the others went underground. They followed the long dark corridors. "It's getting dark, we need a light." Sonic stated.

"Wait, I'll use one of my flash bombs, but remove the weaponizing part, so it serves as a flashlight." Rotor said as he did so.

"Brains and brawn, nice!" Dulcy complimented. Rotor blushed again. Dulcy noticed this. "Not used to get complimented by a lady?" Dulcy asked him.

"Not really, I moved with my family form Holoska to Westside Island when I was young. In the walrus herd, it was considered natural for a walrus to be…big boned but for the islanders I was another fatso to make fun off, with the exceptions of my friends." Rotor explained.

"I don't mind a man having some meat on his bones. Besides, the way you caught me shows it's all bulk." Dulcy complimented.

"Are you two done flirting, I'm seeing something!" Fiona said as she saw light at the end of a tunnel. They reached the end and saw a huge space, big enough to hold the Death Egg. However, the space station wasn't here any longer, but there was a crater in the ground, which was big enough to be an imprint of the death egg.

"It's gone…Eggman moved it after Dulcy escaped, not wanting to risk us finding it." Sally realized.

"I'm sorry…maybe if I hadn't escaped and was turned into a Badnik, you would have been able to find it and destroy it. I could have been released later on…" Dulcy said.

"Don't think that way. Remember we wouldn't have found it anyway without you. Besides, we Freedom Fighters don't make sacrifices if we don't need to." Rotor assured her.

Tails pulled out a scanner and started scanning the area. "I still can trace a signature, it's small and incomplete, meaning it hasn't left shortly, but not too long ago either. If I can isolate what remains of the signature, I might track it." Tails stated.

"You see Dulcy, you still helped us in the end. You made our search a bit easier." Rotor assured her.

"Let's wrap up for now. We need our rest and we might give Dulcy a bit more training before she can join us on the next mission." Sally suggested.

"I still feel I have done so little…" Dulcy said a bit disappointed.

"Everything starts out little Dulcy. To become big, you need to start out small." Rotor said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Dulcy already felt better. "Thanks Rotor." She said before giving him a peck on the cheek. Rotor blushed as he put his hand on the spot where Dulcy touched him. As they left the wide space, Rotor couldn't hold his eyes of her for the whole trip.

Eggman was finished welding on his newest invention as he put his mask and the welder aside and admired his work. But Crabmeat, Slicer and Buzzbomber were behind him. "Master, how can you be so calm about the fact someone took the Hand of Fate and escaped your Death Egg?" Crabmeat asked.

"Simple, the girl is a klutz! I caught her so easy it wasn't any fun. She can't handle the power of that thing. Besides it wouldn't work for me so I didn't lose much. The only thing to be feared is that she could lead the Freedom Fighters to my base, but that's now averted." Eggman responded.

"But what if the Freedom Fighters start to train her to use it?" Slicer asked.

"I appreciate the concern, but the Freedom Fighters won't be able to teach her enough in a short time, cause I am close to discovering the one thing that can power my Death Egg, the one thing more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds, the true hidden treasure of this place." Eggman said as he pointed at some scrolls and broken pieces of wall containing writing in ancient echidna language. "I was so lucky to be transported at the right place when they launched the second attack on my death egg."

"Then why are you still working on that thing?" Crabmeat asked.

"I wasn't done playing." Eggman responded as he quickly checked the new invention again, before activating it, the red optics of the machine starting to glow. "And my newest Mark II Metallix will be the perfect playmate." Eggman said as his smile became as wide as the Cheshire cat and the Sonic-esque improved Metallix unit came online.

END OF CHAPTER


	24. Metallix Brigade

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: METALLIX BRIGADE

The Freedom Fighters had set up a temporary base at Angel Island's temple, where also the Chaos Emeralds were hidden. The day began with the Freedom Fighters doing some training. Dulcy was seeing how Amy and Lily trained. They were playing darts, which is a good sport to test accuracy. "Never knew that you could turn a game in training." Dulcy noted.

"My cousin has thought me there is training in one's livehood, training comes with everyday life, in the big and the small things." Amy said as she tossed a dart at the middle of the dartboard, right on top of a dart she already tossed there earlier. She then removed her bracelets and put them on the table, rubbing her wrists.

Dulcy picked up one of the bracelets and was surprised how heavy they were as she nearly fell over trying to lift one. "Whoa, you carry these around your arms all the time?" she asked.

"Indeed, it develops strength while practicing archery. It's excellent to train multiple traits at once. By the way, how's your meditation with Sally coming along?" Amy said.

"Oh, fine! It's a great way to control my emotions for the use of my gauntlet…only if I could stay awake for longer than five minutes for doing so. Hey, can I try?" Dulcy said as she put the bracelet on the table again and pointed at the dart board.

"Sure!" Amy said as Dulcy grabbed a dart and closed one eye and tried aiming.

"I'm staying back if you don't mind." Lily said, knowing Dulcy can be a klutz at times.

Her suspicion was confirmed when Dulcy completely missed the target, tossed the dart down a doorway, and in the distance you could hear: "Ouch!" in Muttski's voice. "Who tossed a dart in Muttski's butt cheek?" Dulcy put the darts away as she whistled sheepishly.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Sally had gone on a morning walk, just to enjoy each other's company. "Beautiful isn't it? Sally said as she admired the beauty of the island.

"Yes you are." Sonic said cheekily.

Sally smiled. "I was talking about the island, silly!" she said.

"But you don't mind me calling you beautiful, right?" Sonic said teasingly.

"Am I just a pretty face to you?" Sally asked.

"No, you're also tough, strong, sweet, caring and just downright perfect!" Sonic added.

"Oh just kiss me already!" Sally said as the two wanted to kiss.

But then a blue blur rushed by and tackled the two lovebirds to the ground before they could finish their kiss. "Oh who has the guts to…" Sonic asked angrily, not liking being disrupted during his quality time with Sally. He saw a robot, a Metallix, only thing one looked more advanced then the last one (like Mecha Sonic in Sonic 3 & Knuckles). "Oh no, not another one! Can Eggman not think of anything more creative?" Sonic moaned. The Metallix didn't respond, and unlike the previous ones didn't even taunt. "Okay, time for me to bring this one to the junk pile!" Sonic stated.

"I'll help. The Metallix is designed after you, and it looks modified, so you're going to need some help." Sally said as she pulled out her tonfa.

"You know what I enjoy about you during a fight? I always know you have my back." Sonic said.

"Let's save the complimenting for later and just get to the fighting." Sally noted as they engaged the Metallix in battle.

Sonic moved in first, trying to spin-dash into the thing, who just sidestepped and tripped while rapidly blocking a swipe form Sally's tonfa's effortlessly. He then kicked her in the stomach, pushing her back as Sonic got up again and did the Peel-Out, heading the Metallix' way, but the Metallix backhanded him and sent him flying. Sally then combined her tonfa in her bo staff and swiped at the Metallix, who was forced to block all of her blows due to her swift movements, and sent the Metallix staggering back while using her bo staff to deliver a spinning kick.

Sonic moved in and axe kicked at the distracted Metallix, leaving a scratch on his chest armor before he spin-dashed in the robot's gut. Sally then moved in, having put her spear point on her bo staff to slash at the Metallix, cutting of the tip of his metallic quills. Unlike last time, Sonic had back-up so this Metallix couldn't overpower him. "We got him on the ropes Sal, let's finish him!" Sonic suggested. Sonic curled up in another Spin-dash as Sally prepared her lance…

Then two more blurs rushed by and knocked them back to the ground again. This time the Metallix was joined by two brethren, a Tails Metallix and a Knuckles Metallix. "Oh great, more of them? We need back-up for this one." Sonic said as he and Sally grabbed their communicators, but the Metallix Tails sliced Sally's communicator in half, while the Knuckles Metallix punched at Sonic's arm, damaging the communication systems in the gauntlets.

"Not good!" Sonic and Sally said. Sonic grabbed Sally and tried carrying her away, but the Sonic Metallix caught up to him and tripped him as the other two Metallix rushed at them. Sonic jumped aside to dodge the blade-like tails of the Tails Metallix, while Sally blocked a punch from the Knuckles Metallix with her bo staff. But this distracted them enough for Metallix Sonic to kick them both.

The two picked themselves up and tried launching punches and kicks at Metallix Sonic, who is struggling to keep up with both at the same time, but Metallix Tails and Knuckles rushed in, the former kicking Sally in the gut, the latter Sonic in the face before Metallix Sonic punched them hard in the face, knocking the both of them out cold. Metallix Sonic grabs Sally and lays her over his shoulder, while Metallix Tails leaves behind a small disc. The three then rush off with Sally.

Sonic woke up with a major headache, back at the temple. "Oh my head…The Metallix! Where are they…where's Sally?" he asked in panic.

The other Freedom Fighters had an awkward look on their face. "She's been taken by the Metallix. Eggman left a message." Tails said.

He pulled out the disc they found with Sonic, and a hologram of Eggman's head appear: "Greetings Freedom Fighters, I guess you know my new Metallix Brigade by now. And if you find this message, they probably have taken Sally Acorn hostage. You see, Sonic is the powerhouse, but the true leader is the squirrel girl. And if you want her back, the three I based the Metallix on must meet me at the Lava Reefs at three, without Chaos Emeralds or Time Stone, or back-up, where I'll give you the chance to get her back, but only if you defeat my Metallix. If you don't, then I'll turn her into a Badnik!" the hologram then died down.

"I'm going to kill that fat bastard once I get my hands on him!" Sonic said enraged as he tried to get up and rush off.

"Listen, we care for Sally too, but we're walking right in a trap here, and we won't be able to save her if we get captured too." Tails said as he tried to calm Sonic down.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Play with our thumbs?" Sonic asked angrily.

"We must strike when the moment is right, we must lure Eggman in a false sense of security before we move out and take Sally back." Knuckles suggested.

Eggman was proud to see Sally inside her prison cell in a make-shift base in the lava reefs: "Well, well, well, if it isn't Sally Acorn. I must admit I'm impressed by your skills, but everything is futile in the end. My forces are tracking down an alternate energy source for my Death Egg, I got an army or robots and the Metallix. And you and your friends soon will be my loyal servants. I think I'll turn the dog in my personal chef…"

"How cliché, the gloating, the not killing me right away, you're just another bad guy trying to conquer the world. Lethal, but uninspiring." Sally replied.

"Oh I'm not the one stuck in a prison cell at the moment. When your friends arrive and challenge my Metallix, or rather try to do so, they'll fall, and they'll be added to my army, and they'll fetch the remaining freedom fighters and the emeralds for me. It's inevitable. Your friends probably know I won't keep my promise and will have a little plan, but none of them can outsmart me!" Eggman said.

Slicer was there, standing at Eggman's side the entire time as he gloated. Slicer spoke up: "Master, it doesn't exactly feel right how you had captured the girl. The odds weren't even and…"

"You should know better I don't care about playing fair. I tolerate your honorable mush because you're a loyal and competent fighter, but that doesn't mean I play by your rules, you obey mine! Is that clear?" Eggman groaned.

"Er…yes sir!" Slicer said as he hung down his head.

"Great. Now, I'll go and make a final check on the Metallix units, you stay here and guard her." Eggman said as he left.

Slicer sighed as he sat down. He stared at Sally, who had her head hung down. Then he heard a grumbling. It was Sally's stomach, she hadn't eaten anything yet as she wanted to take a walk before breakfast. Slicer grabbed out a chocolate bar and handed it to her: "Here, it's all I have, but it should keep you sustained for a while. It's from Buzzbomber's personal candy stack, but he always forgets he can't eat because he's a machine."

Sally took the chocolate bar, removed the paper and sniffed it. "I didn't poison it. It wouldn't be honorable." Slicer assured her.

Sally took a bit of the chocolate and chewed a bit before she asked Slicer: "You're not like the other Eggman robots. Why would someone as honorable as you take all this from Eggman? You don't belong with him."

"I was created by him, it's my function, my designation to serve him, no matter what." Slicer answered.

"But you're not like him: you don't cause unnecessary pain or torture on people, you fight fair, you respect life…How can you serve a man who has caused death and destruction for fun, who cares little for life, who doesn't stop until everything is his, at all these costs." Sally said.

"I shouldn't be questioning that. I'm a machine built for war and servitude." Slicer stated.

"But you're not just a machine…no other machine has made me reluctant to fight, because…there's something Mobian about you. You gave me a chocolate bar, you saved me from Crabmeat. How can you let Eggman get away with what he's doing?" Sally said.

"Please, no more! I'm aware I have a mindset and standards that shouldn't be normal for a robot. But it's what I was designed for, Eggman created me, he's my master, honor demands I serve him no matter what!" Slicer said.

"It doesn't mean because he created you, he's your master. You can pick your own master, you can be your own master. You shouldn't be able to worry about getting involved with dishonorable activities." Sally stated.

"It's not that easy." Slicer replied.

"That's because you're making it hard for yourself." Sally stated.

"Slicer! Bring the prisoner along, it's almost time for the big show!" Eggman ordered.

Slicer sighed as he grabbed a device that created light constructs to tie up Sally's limbs. "I'm sorry…" he said sincerely as he took her from her cell and carried her away.

Eggman, joined by the three Metallix units and Slicer, who still had Sally in his grip, saw how Sonic, Tails and Knuckles arrived on the scene. "Welcome Freedom Fighters. I see you decided to show. You should, because you care about her (points at Sally) and that is what sets me apart from you: I don't care for anything but myself, I have no limits, no ties, I'm not held back!"

"Just toss those tin cans at us so we can scrap them and get Sally back, I want to be in time for dinner, Muttski is making dumplings." Sonic taunted.

"Confident aren't you? Well, let's see if we can break that confidence. Metallix, have fun!" Eggman said as he snapped his fingers and the three mechanical dopplegangers went for their counterparts.

Sonic tried punching the Metallix, but he caught his fist and began spinning him around and tossed him away. Sonic Metallix jumped up and tried to crush Sonic under his foot, as Sonic jumped back to dodge as he tried spin-dashing into the robot, who blocked using his arms, but Sonic kept going, trying to push the brute back. But the Sonic Metallix tossed Sonic aside. He then became engulfed in an electric aura as he charged into Sonic and pushed him back.

Tails fought the Tails Metallix to a standstill. Tails tries whacking with his namesakes, but the Metallix grabbed them and started slamming Tails in the ground over and over again using them. Tails pulled the Metallix towards him using his tails and kicked the Metallix, but it recovered quickly as it lashed with its blade tails, which Tails blocked using its own. But then the Metallix electrifies its tails and shocks Tails, before kicking him away.

Knuckles tries punching at the Metallix, but he dodged all of the attacks, before he caught Knuckles by surprise using an uppercut. Knuckles picks himself up, jumped up and glided with his fists forward, but the Knuckles Metallix caught the fists easily before kicking Knuckles in the stomach. As Knuckles held the sour spot in pain, the Metallix flew up and used a move looking like Knuckles gliding, only much faster and super-charged, knocking Knuckles away.

"This isn't working, they were modeled after us, they know all our moves. Never knew I was that tough if you ask me." Sonic said.

"Really? I could take you on any day." Knuckles stated.

"That's it! We switch opponents, the Metallix are built to match their counterpart, not anyone else." Tails suggested.

"Then let's try that. On the count of three…one, two, three and switch!" Sonic agreed as the heroes switched counterparts to fight.

Sonic was up against the Tails Metallix. It flew above him as it swooped down to lash with his tails, but Sonic dodged. He ran around in a circle and created a tornado to trap the Metallix in. He then jumped in the tornado and used a kick to fling the Metallix into the ground. He then curled up into a ball, shot down as a cannonball and shattered the Metallix.

Tails fought the Knuckles Metallix. It launched several punches, which Tails dodged. The Knuckles Metallix charges forward and tries headbutting him, but Tails flew up before he flipped forward in the air, bringing down his Tails like hammers, knocking the Metallix down onto the ground. Then he lashed with his tails again, knocking the head of the Metallix, as the body shut down and fell down.

Knuckles saw the Metallix doing a metallic spin-dash towards him, but Knuckles punched the ground, creating a small quake that threw the Metallix off-balance and forced him to stop. Knuckles then punched the Metallix, shattering a piece of its face. Knuckles then vertically spun his arms in a circle motion, rushing for the Metallix and as soon as his attack collided, the blue Metallix' body parts scattered everywhere.

The three heroes stood proudly over their victory. "Told you I could handle you." Knuckles said jokingly.

"I'm surprised those Metallix are so easy once they're not fighting their counterpart or have no strength in numbers." Tails added.

"Good thinking once again, little bro. Now one more thing to crack: a big egg!" Sonic said as he turned his attention to Eggman.

"I'm impressed and rather surprised that you defeated the Metallix. But in vain, cause you should know by now I don't keep my word." Eggman said as he pulled a small shield-shaped object, a Badnik Suit-Shield. "I'll turn her into a Badnik anyway!"

"No!" Slicer said as he stood in between Eggman and Sally. "They've wan fair and square, you lost. Let the girl go, and try harder next time." Slicer argued.

"I don't do fair and square Slicer, and I don't like that tone you gave me. I've been tolerant of you long enough, but now I'm getting annoyed by you." Eggman said angrily.

"I can't let you do this…it's wrong, there's no honor in your actions." Slicer spat back.

"Don't you dare to use that word with me! Honor is meaningless, it's all about power, and those who have to subject themselves to me, and so should you. So obey me Slicer." Eggman shouted.

"No!" Slicer said as he used his blades to cut Sally's bounds, who ran back to Sonic, who hugged her for comfort.

"You traitorous little…Override, code six-zero-nine!" Eggman said, but nothing happened to Slicer.

"I've evolved beyond my original programming Eggman. I will not allow myself to be controlled by you. For too long I was aiding you in these dishonorable and vile acts, justifying myself with my own lies and cowardice but not any longer. I choose my own master." Slicer said as he lashed at Eggman.

Eggman dropped the Badnik shield as he caught Slicer's blades in his hands. Slicer lashed with the second blade, but Eggman dodged before he launched a punch at Slicer, hitting him in the face and knocking him back. "You thought you could handle me? I created you, I can also destroy you!"

"Try me!" Slicer said as he took a battle stance.

The Badnik shield had spouted spider-like legs and was crawling towards Sonic and Sally. "I'm glad you're here Sonic." She said.

"I would always come back for you Sal. I'm surprised that Slicer helped you out like that, but on the other hand, in a way I'm not." Sonic stated.

"Even if he didn't, we had the other Freedom Fighters on standby, waiting to spring a trap, but Slicer made things easier." Tails explained.

"That's a remarkable machine. Able to turn on its creator, even in echidna archives I never found clues on an invention with a free will." Knuckles said.

The Badnik shield still was crawling, very steady and stealth-like, ready to attach itself to the nearest host. It prepared itself to jump towards Sally, still in Sonic's arms with her back turned to it. Sonic noticed the Badnik shield at the last second: "Sal, look out!" he said as he tossed Sally aside as the shield jumped, and it attaches itself to Sonic since it missed Sonic.

"Argh!" Sonic said as the thing digs itself in his skin and a metallic liquid fused itself onto his skin, slowly changing him. "Sal, get back! It got me…I…" Sonic said as the suit completely engulfed him. What stood there was now a very Robian-like Sonic. As the process was done, the Badnik Sonic stood up as it said in dark tone: "Hello Sal, not glad to see me? You know this isn't so bad. I feel better than ever!"

"No!" Sally said as she was close to tears to see what happened to Sonic.

"It can't be!" Tails said.

"I was joking about earlier, I don't want to fight you." Knuckles stated.

Slicer and Eggman broke up their fight to see what happens. Slicer was shocked. "No, I was trying to prevent something like this…" the mantis robot said.

"This is too good…" Eggman said with a wicked smile on his face.

TO BE CONTINUED


	25. Badnik Sonic

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: BADNIK SONIC

Last time, the heroes fought three models of Metallix, Eggman had kidnapped Sally and the heroes were forced to face off against the machines without help of any relics. But in the end the heroes managed to win the day either way, save Sally and gain an unexpected ally in the form of Slicer. But when things finally looked good, they soon turned worse than ever when Sonic turned into a Badnik.

Sonic as a Badnik, the idea was far more frightening than any Metallix. It was their friend, their most powerful member in terms of abilities and personality, the one whose cocky but light-hearted banter gave them courage, their co-leader. Now completely engulfed into a blue badnik armor, silver where the peach colored skin should be thick lower arms and legs and longer and stiffer looking spines. "Hi guys, we were wrong to avoid this, I feel stronger than ever. We shouldn't be fighting the big Egg in the first place!" Badnik Sonic said evilly.

"Sonic…no!" Sally cried. The other Freedom Fighters had caught up, having patrolled around the area in case they needed to spring the trap for Eggman. But they were in for quite the shock when they arrived.

"Hey guys, what…holy Walkers! Don't tell me that's Sonic!" Rotor said surprised.

"This cannot be 'appening…" Antoine added.

"Sugah-hog?" Bunnie asked sadly.

"Muttski doesn't want to fight Sonic, Sonic is Muttski's friend!" Muttski said, not sounding his wacky upbeat self for once.

"This is terrible." Amy remarked.

"How is this possible?" Amy asked.

"And to think things were started to look bad for me at first, after a few annoying setbacks by those meddlesome kids, I finally got a victory over them! I turned their most powerful and iconic member into my personal servant. Though oddly enough he retains some personality…but who cares, even he can't resist the Badnik suit programming. Oh Sonic…beat those friends of yours an inch from their lives and prepare for Badnik conversion. But I wouldn't mind a few casualties along the way." Eggman ranted.

"Got it, big Egg!" Badnik Sonci said as he rushed at the heroes, who scattered as the blue blur rushed by.

"Try to subdue him, maybe we can at least restore his free will." Sally stated.

"It's not going to be easy, since the Badnik suits adapt. The trick we used on Uncle Chuck won't work on Sonic." Tails stated.

"I don't care, we have to try something." Sally said.

"I'll help!" Slicer said as he stood next to Sally. He handed her back her tonfa.

"Why? I already owe you for saving me." Sally asked.

"I owe you for saving me…from myself." Slicer assured her. The heroes then stood in a battle pose, though reluctantly due to it being Sonic. "Let's save your friend." He added.

Bunnie moved in first and tried a simple punch intended to knock Sonic unconscious, but Sonic caught her arm and twists it behind her back while holding the other by the wrist. Antoine moved in as he tried to save his girlfriend, but Sonic used Bunnie as a shield, causing Antoine to halt his attack. Sonic squeezes a part of Bunnie's arm, forcing it to turn in a gun and fire a sonic blast at Antoine, sending him flying. Bunnie extended her legs to break free of Badnik Sonic's grip, but he then sweep kicks Bunnie, making her fall down as he mockingly yells: "Timber!"

Rotor moved in with some sleep grenades, hoping they'd help, but Sonic wasn't affected by it due to the suit's protective systems as he charged through the gas and punched Rotor in the gut and sent him flying. "Leave him alone!" Dulcy said as she moved in and shot a huge stream of fire at Badnik Sonic, pushing him back.

"Don't Dulcy, if the suit gets damaged, you'll hurt Sonic! It's connected to his synaptic systems. Disabling the suit in the wrong way might paralyze or kill him!" Rotor warned. Dulcy stopped as she tried calming down and instead froze Sonic in a block of ice. "I think that did it!" she said proudly.

Sonic broke free from the ice: "Guess again!" as he rushed at her, head-butting her and knocking her onto the ground.

Muttski then jumped on Sonic's back and held him in a chokehold. Muttski didn't use his usual unpredictable fighting style since he was going against Sonic. But Sonic tossed him off his back. Muttski got up as he said: "Muttski doesn't want to hurt Sonic, Sonic can't let the Badnik suit control him!" Muttski said.

Sonic briefly gained a regretful look on his face: "Muttski, help me, I can't control myself!"

"What can Muttski do to help?" Muttski asked, only for Sonic to speed up towards him, kick him in the stomach and gave him a punch in the face.

"'What can Muttski do to help?' You're pathetic!" Badnik Sonic said, having acted the whole time before another kick sent Muttski flying.

Amy moved in and while not using her bow and arrow she was a skilled combatant too, but with Sonic's already impressive physical feats augmented by the suit, he dodged all blows while barely moving, even standing there with a smug grin and crossed arms. He then grabbed Amy's fist as it nearly collided, as he flipped her around in the air and kicked her before she landed, sending her flying.

Lily rushed at Sonic on her hoverboard, but he plucked Lily out of the air by her throat, nearly choking her, before grabbing her board and used it to whack her, sending her flying as well, before breaking her Extreme Gear in half.

Knuckles jumped up and glided at Sonic, but Sonic jumped up too, and thrusted downwards with his foot, slamming Knuckles into the ground. "Didn't you just say you could take me, Knucklehead?" he mocked as he grabbed the echidna by his dreads. "You couldn't handle a Chirp!" he said as he tossed Knuckles away.

"Sonic, snap out of it!" Fiona said as she charged at Sonic and tried launching a few kicks, but wasn't able to lay a hand or foot on Sonic. Sonic grabs her face and slams Fiona into the ground.

Tails rushed in and tackles Sonic, but Sonic grabs him by his shoulders and started squeezing Tails. "Hi little bro! Not happy to see me?"

"You're being controlled, the suit is holding you." Tails said, moaning in pain.

"No, it set me free, I have no limits, no morals, no bounds, I'm invincible!" He said, but Tails uses his namesakes to slash Sonic and break free, but the Badnik armor wasn't scratched. "You shouldn't have done that…I hoped you and I could fight alongside one another as Badniks, but you heard the boss-man, he wouldn't mind a few casualties."

Sonic tried rushing at Tails, but Slicer then moves in and tries slashing at Sonic, Sonic barely managed avoiding the fast and swift strikes. Slicer then charges at Sonic and pinned him down against the ground. "Go now, kitsune, I can't hold him forever!" Slicer warned.

Tails moved in as he grabbed some tools and wanted to start tinkering on the suit, but the angered Sonic roared and tosses the two off him. He punches Slicer hard, cracking his face, while he kicked Tails and sent him flying. "Nobody touches me."

"But me!" Sally said as she finally moved in.

Badnik Sonic smiled smugly. "Hi Sal, looking gorgeous. Wonder how you'll look with a Badnik outfit, those things are very form-fitting. Why don't we drop the act and just give in? We no longer need to fight for a lost cause, we can win!"

"If that's winning, I'd rather lose!" Sally stated.

"So, you're going to try and fight me?" Sonic asked.

"No, I'll just stand here and let you do what you see fit. I'll order the orders to stay down." Sally replied.

"Why do that? Finally gotten wise?" Sonic asked.

"No, because I believe my Sonic is still in here, trying to fight it. The way you show personality, which is unusual for Badniks, shows you're still resisting. I just need to reach a little deeper and set you free!" Sally explained.

"A valiant effort, but useless. Sonic is in my power." Eggman said as he tossed a Badnik shield at Sonic, who caught it in his hand. "Make her one of us!"

"Gladly! I don't need to miss her that way." Sonic said as she moved to Sally. He held up the shield, the other freedom fighters wanting to but in, but Sally raised her hand, noting them to stand down. Sonic approached more closely as suddenly he jerked and stood still. "No…can't do this…to Sal!" he said as he crushed the shield in his hand as he was shaking heavily trying to fight back at the suit.

"What? The rodent is resisting my suit? Impossible! No matter, I'll just need to crank up the power!" Eggman said as he grabbed a remote and turned a button on it.

This engulfed Sonic in an electric shock as his eyes glowed, he roared and prepared to lash at Sally with his fist. But a few inches from her face he stopped. "No…can't do it!" he said as he moved back, clearly in pain as he still resists.

"It's working. C'mon, Sonic, you can do it!" Tails said enthusiastically as he approached Sonic. But that was a bad move as an annoyed Eggman turned the button again, increasing the power of the suit, as the jacked up Sonic grabs Tails throat, and slowly started choking him.

But after Sonic realized what he did, he fought back. "No…my little bro…no!" he said as he let go. "No…I won't hurt them anymore. I won't hurt my friends…oh forget your friends, they're holding you back, you can be strong…no, they don't hold me back, they give me strength…stop speaking gibberish and surrender, think of all the power you gain…power is meaningless..." Sonic said, struggling with himself.

Eggman dialed as a madman on the remote: "Stupid thing! Work! I can't let this slip, not when I'm so close to winning! I have the rodent in my power, I can't let that be taken away…" but the remote exploded in his hand due to the strain. "This isn't good!" Eggman moaned.

"Yeah Sonic! Look what you're doing! You're making a fool out of Eggman even when he has you in one of his suits!" Fiona cheered.

"Yeah, no one can control you Sonic, you're like the wind, uncatchable but strong!" Tails added.

"C'mon spiky, after the hard time you've given me, you're not going to slack off! Show what you're made off!" Knuckles said.

"You showed strength in more than one way whenever we fought, show me that strength again." Slicer said.

"Sonic, you never let anything get in your way, never let anything slow you down. Keep up the pace!" Sally finished. The others started chanting Sonic's name over and over again.

Sonic's suit started to sport cracks as he continued fighting. "Eggman…you tried turning me against my loved ones…but no more! This is my body, and my mind! And I want you to get out! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Sonic said as the cracks on the suit started to grow and a glow spread out from under the armor…before in one huge burst the Badnik suit around Sonic shattered.

"No! No, no, no, no…no one should be able to resist the Badnik suit. It was designed to be ultimate tool of enslavement!" Eggman groaned.

Sonic had collapsed on his hand and feet after his release, but he picked himself up again: "There are some things you'll never understand Eggman, things like love, and friendship…and that's why you'll never win! Because you don't understand. And you know what? I feel sorry for you. Because you'll never know what life really is about, and that's just a sad existence. You shouldn't be feared, but pitied!"

Eggman twitched heavily, looking both crazy and angry: "Pitied? PITIED? Me? The only pity here is that I didn't get the chance to see the light in your eyes die out when I crush you all!"

"You'd better go now, cause the evil Super Sonic is close to coming out again, and the first thing he'd go for is the biggest target: the giant egg on legs!" Sonic warned as his teeth turned sharp briefly as his quills jerked up.

Eggman took a few steps back in fear: "You haven't seen the last of me, I don't care what happens, even if from beyond the grave, I'll make your lives miserable to very end of it!" he said as he pushed a button on his belt teleporting away. After that, Sonic collapsed on the ground, tired and hurt by the events.

Sonic woke up at the echidna temple, laying in a sickbed. He was surrounded by all his friends, and Slicer whom got himself fixed by Tails. "Hey guys…" he said weakly.

"You really surprised us all. You just broke the rules of logic twice, first you retain your powers after the Chaos Siphon and now you just resisted a Badnik suit's programming." Tails complimented.

"I didn't doubt you for a moment." Sally said, grabbing Sonic's hand.

"Well I feel like a million Mobiums…in the figurative sense, in the literal sense I feel like a million worth of Mobiums has been tossed at my head." Sonic joked.

"You'll need a lot of rest after this, I'm just glad the Badnik suit didn't damage your nerve system. But with your enhanced healing, you'll be back on your feet in no time." Tails assured him.

"I suggest we leave him to rest for now…let's leave him in the capable hands of his mate." Slicer suggested.

"Hey Slicer…" Sonic said before Slicer left. Slicer stopped briefly to turn around. "Thanks for helping Sal. You're good in my book. You were always an interesting foe…but I'm glad to call you an ally."

"Unfortunately, I can't stay. I'm no hero, I'm no freedom fighter. I need to sort things out. But if you need me again, I'll know when to find you. I have a feeling Eggman will move out again in the future soon." He said.

"Still…thanks!" Sonic assured him. Slicer didn't show any expression, but Sonic could read his optics. Slicer nodded as he left, and while the others left to stay at the temple, he left to go out on his own. "He had to be the one to be the loner type that sets out on his own, huh?"

"Give him a break, he's looking for a new meaning. It may sound silly, but I think he's going on a spiritual quest." Sally replied.

Sonic chuckled. "If you say so. Say, you're staying with me?"

"Of course, I'm not leaving you out of my sight, otherwise you'd just do stupid things. Like catching another Badnik suit for me. Say, what would've you done if I had been turned into a Badnik?" Sally replied.

"I would rather not think about it…it didn't happen. Hey, Sal…would you sleep with me? I mean not…that, I couldn't even do so since I'm still tired and all, but just cuddle?" Sonic asked.

"Sure, I'd love to." Sally said as she removed her jacket and joined Sonic under the sheets, where they cuddled before falling asleep in their hands.

In his hidden Death Egg Base, Eggman was ranting to himself in his office: "It couldn't have, it shouldn't have happened. The design of the Badnik suit is foolproof. Come to think of it…he shouldn't be able to have kept his superspeed after the kitsune siphoned him, he shouldn't have been able to use that fake emerald. It shouldn't have, the hedgehog defies laws of nature and physics…it's illogical…it's the constant chaos, the unpredictable thing, the anarchy, the unforeseeable! My master plan…it's ingenious but how to fight the constant chaos?"

He grabbed his head in pain: "I couldn't even foresee Slicer's betrayal. But there are flaws, flaws in the plan? What to do to prevent the chaos…order is the opposite, I must establish it. I've been trying to do that, but have I done enough. No! I haven't, I must eliminate all the flaws, leave nothing to chance, no more playing around, I need to get serious!" he adjusted his glasses as he grabbed his communicator: "Crabmeat, Buzzbomber! I need you in my office right now!"

The two arrived in his office. "What is it boss, I was just celebrating my anniversary with my darling!" Buzzbomber said as he held out a toaster.

"You are dating a toaster?" Crabmeat asked.

"Indeed, and me and little Toast here are made for each other!" Buzzbomber said dumbly.

"Yeah, they're both mechanical with little AI…but hey, I heard Slicer turned on us. That's good so now we need to dispose of him, never liked his morals and honorable crap anyway. And you'd thought I'd betray you someday." Crabmeat said. "But he did it far better than you ever did." Grabber said. "Shut up!" Crabmeat said to his brother in his head.

"It's true Slicer's turncoat was unexpected. That's why I'm not going to take any risks any more. I've allowed the game to go on, but I'm done playing. So…I'll make sure you two aren't going to interfere anymore. Crabmeat is too willing to overthrow me and Buzzbomber is a half-wit…so I'll need to rectify that." Eggman said as he pushed a button on his desk. Two chairs popped out of the ground cables came out which tied Crabmeat and Buzzbomber to it.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?" Crabmeat asked.

"Toast!" Buzzbomber said as he looked at the toaster on the floor, sad he couldn't be with it.

Eggman crushed the toaster under his foot as he approached the two, carrying some painful looking surgical tools. "Time for some…modifications. Don't worry, it'll be fun…for me that is, wouldn't know about you! Wouldn't care anyway."

"Finally getting what's coming to you!" Grabber said to Crabmeat. "You realize what he'll do to me now will affect you too!" Crabmeat pointed out. "Oh crud!" Grabber moaned.

Eggman had a small tool sporting a miniature buzzsaw close to Crabmeat's face: "Time for your check-up…"

TO BE CONTINUED


	26. A couple of weasels

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: A COUPLE OF WEASELS

At the temple of the echidna, Dulcy was sound asleep in her bed, snoring softly and drooling slightly. "Oh my knight in shining armor, blow me away with your explosives." She muttered in her sleep. Someone moved next to her and blew on an air horn, the sound waking her instantly as she fell out of her bed. "Who? What? Where?"

"Get up! I promised I'd help you with training and that's what I'm gonna do!" Fiona said as she helped the groggy Dulcy get up.

"Do we have to wake so early?" Dulcy asked as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"You're already a week with us and you're still not used to getting up early? In that case I should leave you here and let you rest, but then you'll miss out on Rotor, he's joining the training to test his newest weapon." Fiona said.

"I'm coming!" Dulcy said immediately. Fiona smiled, knowing about Dulcy and Rotor's crush on one another. But the thing was she hadn't told Rotor yet she was taking Dulcy along.

Tails and Rotor were waiting for the girls to come. When the girls came, Rotor couldn't take his eyes of the komodo dragon girl as she walked in. "Oh, er…Hi Dulcy, didn't know you'd join in too."

"You mind?" Dulcy asked.

"No, not at all!" Rotor said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You two coming or are you going to stand there and flirt some more?" Tails asked, causing the two turn away from each other blushing, before they followed the two foxes outside.

They went towards the edge of the forest where they were ready to train. "Okay Dulcy, today, I'll be learning you about stealth. Since you're not really handiest girl around, you really need to work on this one. The most important thing about stealth is not only stay undetected, but detect your foes before they detect you." Fiona explained, having sported a black ninja-like bodysuit as she put on a mask that fits with it. "I'm hiding in the forest, you try to find me and catch me. At the same time I'll do the same."

"You think it's really a good idea, I'm only a rookie? Does this have to be this tough at my first lesson?" Dulcy asked.

"I had to learn this on my own, you be glad you have someone to teach. But if you want to learn fast, you need to learn a lot at once. Believe me, it's the best way and it worked for me. Besides if it doesn't work the first time, we'll keep trying. Now, let's play hide and seek!" Fiona said as she ran into the forest and seemed to vanish instantly.

"Well, good luck, Dulcy!" Rotor said. Dulcy took a deep breath and rushed into the forest. "Now, to test out my newest bomb. This bomb will explode, but each piece of shrapnel will automatically embed itself into Eggman technology, but I need to work out the flaw that it might target Badnik suits…" Rotor said, as Tails listened carefully.

Dulcy carefully strolled through the forest, keeping her eyes peeled. She tried sneaking around, but almost tripped over a tree root, and stepped onto a twig much later on. She silently cursed herself as she recomposed herself and look around wildly. She heard some rustling behind her, turned around and aimed her gauntlet, but saw nothing. She heard some more, each time turning around and not seeing anything.

Then suddenly something from above tackled her and pinned her to the ground. "That's very sloppy! Let's try again. I take a head start and you seek me again!" Fiona said as she let Dulcy go.

Dulcy looked annoyed. "If it wasn't for that hunk of a walrus, I wouldn't have come to begin with…even though we're doing two separate things at two different places." She muttered under her breath, before covering her mouth, realizing she nearly could tip off Fiona. "Okay, focus, catch the fox." She said to herself. She then saw a black silhouette in the distance. "Bingo!" she thought as she aimed her gauntlet and fired a stream of ice at the feet of the silhouette.

But it heard her, jumped to avoid her and pulled out a gun and fired at Dulcy, who quickly dove behind a tree to avoid the gunfire. "Hey, this wasn't part of the training!" Dulcy shouted at the silhouette, who continued firing, as Dulcy hid behing the tree again.

Then another black silhouette jumped at the first and kicked the gun out of its hands as they started fighting hand to hand. "Fiona…and Fiona? Who is who?" Dulcy wondered as she moved towards the two, only for three figures to jump in her way, the first being clad in a large coat and big hunter hat, the second being a green duck and the third being a large polar bear.

"Who are you, and who do you think you can sneak up to my sister and attack her? Only I can do that!" the coated figure said.

"I mistook her for someone else, my friend who is also in a black outfit." Dulcy explained as she waved her hands around to gesture she doesn't want to fight.

"Look at that shiny thing around her hand! It has five more shinies on it, shinies in a shiny! It's shinypalooza…" the green duck muttered as he looked at the Hand of Fate with a nutty admiring grin on his face.

"Then you don't mind handing that expensive lookin' thing over to me." The coated figure said as he pulled a gun and aimed it at Dulcy.

"I can't, it's kind of stuck on me!" Dulcy said.

"Then we'll take it from ya!" the coated figure said as he aimed his weapon, but something rolled in front of his feet and expelled a gas, making him cough violently as he stumbled back.

It was Rotor, who was joined by Tails, who had thrown the smoke bomb. "You think you're so tough, picking on a girl like that?" Rotor asked.

Dulcy admired her savior and in dream vision she seemed to envision Rotor in a knight armor. "Thanks for sticking up for me, there are two black figures and I don't know which one's Fiona and these three wanted to…" Dulcy said.

"Never mind that, we're three on three now, we can take them!" Tails said as he struck a battle pose, as the foes did as well.

The cloaked figure spouted a tail from under his coat as he used it as a spring to jump up highly, pull two guns and fire away. The three jumped aside as Dulcy channeled her rage as she fired a stream of fire, missing the coated figure barely. "Hah, you couldn't aim if your life depended on it!" he mocked. But Tails had flown up to his height and swatted him with his namesakes.

As he dropped down the polar bear moved in and tried punching Rotor, who caught the fist and started to grapple with him, the two seeming to have equal strength. Dulcy turned to the duck as she aimed her Hand and fired a stream of ice, which he dodged. "You can't catch me, you can't catch me, you can't…" the duck sang mockingly as he quickly dodged under another ice blast before he finished: "…catch me! Stop, hammer time!" the duck said as he tossed some black spherical bombs at her, Dulcy in time managing to concentrate on her flight abilities to fly out of reach.

"Whoa…she can fly! Oh wait, I can fly too! Weeeeeeeeeeeee!" the duck said as he flew up and pulled out more bombs: "I brought the whole family: this is Jamie, Kendall, this is Charlie…oh, don't forget Dirk!" he said as he tossed a bomb with each name he called out, Dulcy barely managing to avoid the bombs as she tried to concentrate on keeping afloat. "And not to forget Iris!" the last one was a pipe bomb unlike the others: "She's adopted, but don't tell her, she's so sensitive!" as he tossed it at Dulcy, who dodged the explosion but the shockwave sent her spiraling in the air, into a tree.

Rotor slammed the polar beat into a tree, who punched Rotor in the face in return, and then in the stomach before Rotor recovered and head-butted the polar bear before grabbing his arm and flinging him over his shoulder. The polar bear was sent into a tree, as Rotor looked up to see Dulcy duke it out with the duck. "No, Dulcy!" he said as she had trouble dodging the bombs. He grabbed a pipe bomb from his belt and tossed it at the duck.

The duck saw the pipe bomb fly towards him: "Iris, I found your long lost mother!" he said before it blew up in his face, leaving him black and charred as he coughed up some smoke as he said: "Yep, it runs in the family!" as he fainted and fell from the sky.

Meanwhile, the polar bear had recovered and ran at Rotor, who had his back turned towards him when he was helping Dulcy. "Rotor, look out!" Dulcy said as she reached out her hand, and the yellow gem on her gauntlet glowed and a burst of wind knocked back the polar bear into a tree. "You saved me there, so I decided to return the favor." She said.

"I'm very grateful for that. You're getting better at fighting. You even unlocked the wind power at last!" Rotor noted.

"I just wanted to protect you…you think those feelings triggered the wind power?" Dulcy wondered.

Meanwhile Tails dodges some gunfire from the coated figure as he used his aerial movement to stay clear of the bullets, and then moved in and sliced the guns with his Tails, and knocked him out with a single punch soon afterwards. Now he got a good look at him, Tails could finally see it was a purple weasel with a large protruding fang.

Meanwhile Fiona and the other black silhouette continued to fight, but it was hard to tell them apart since they used exactly the same moves. One threw a punch, the other would too. One would launch a kick, the other would too. "The crane kick…" Fiona noted. "The star uppercut…" the other noted. They simultaneously removed their masks. On the left was Fiona, on the right was another purple weasel, only this one was female and more beautiful to say the least. "Fi?" "Nic?" they asked one another before they squealed in joy and hugged.

"It has been so long!" Fiona said. "I know right. Oh never thought of all places, I'd see you on a floating island…" the purple weasel girl responded.

The other heroes looked wide-eyed at the two. "You know her?" Dulcy, Rotor and Tails asked in unison.

"Of course, she's my sister…step-sister actually. Guys, meet Nicolette Weasel, Nic for short." Fiona introduced her.

"Oh…I feel guilty for firing at Fiona's family, I'm sorry, Fiona and I were training and I thought you were her and…" Dulcy said sheepishly.

"It's nothing. A friend of my sis is a friend of mine. Lemme guess, that idiot brother of mine started the actual fight?" Nic said as she motioned at the other purple weasel, who regained consciousness.

"Oh no, don't tell me that's Fiona!" the male purple weasel moaned.

"You better believe it Nack, deal with it! Because you never liked her doesn't mean I let you ruin our reunion. Hey guys, bury the hatch and go meet my sister and her friends." Nic reacted as she turned to duck and the Polar Bear. "Meet my idiot brother Nack (who was fuming in the background), Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear. Together we're the bounty hunter team known as Team Hooligan…though I really need to change that name." Nic introduced.

"These are my friends Rotor and Dulcy, and my genius boyfriend Tails." Fiona said as she wrapped an arm around Tails' shoulder.

"A bit younger then I'd expect, but certainly a good looking man. You're lucky Fiona!" Nic complimented.

"Yeah, lucky that you even can get a man considering you prefer both men and…" Nack muttered, but Nic slapped him on the back of the head. "…I'm shutting up!" he added quickly as he rubbed the sour spot on his head.

"Yay, now we're one big happy family! Foxy vixy and the propeller-butt can be the mommy and daddy, the flying lizard girl and the walrus are their children and I'll be the annoying nephew that comes and asks for money!" Bean said excited.

"He's…unusual." Fiona noted. "I know…his head may not be at the right spot, but he's useful, he's good with explosives. He used to work for the Battle Bird armada, but got kicked out because of his antics." Nic answered.

"But that big red button was so shiny and beautiful! It begged me to be pressed…that was the second biggest and best explosion I've ever caused." Bean replied. Bark just rolled his eyes.

"He doesn't say much, does he?" Rotor said as he pointed at Bark.

"He has reason to. When Eggman took over the surface, his family was lost to them. Unable to save them, he swore and oath of silence to respect their memory. He looks tough, but he has a heart of gold. He just can get carried away at times." Nic explained.

"You said you were a bounty hunter? How do you manage that under Eggman?" Tails asked.

"We are sometimes are hired by governments like the Overlanders or the Chun-Nan clans for big jobs, which pay handsomely. Sometimes smaller and less fortunate people pay us to find out what happened to a lost family member or friend, and we either pass their fate to them or retrieve them before something bad happens. The latter pays less, but if we make people happy with it." Nic pointed out.

"We'd be rich again if not for this charity work!" Nack muttered as Nic slapped the back of his head again. "Sorry, my dumb brother needs to be put in his place at times." Nic pointed out.

"Don't mind!" Dulcy said finding it satisfying to see the one who fired at her getting slapped.

"I also used to be part of Nic's gang for a while until I learnt enough and went out to exact my revenge…up until I found out Archibald was innocent." Fiona said embarrassed.

"Sorry to hear your search didn't lead to anything." Nic said. "You kidding? It led me to Tails, to the Freedom Fighters, I'm part of something bigger now, I fight Eggman head-on, I'm doing much better in the world. Sorry I had to leave, but…" Fiona stated.

"I understand. As long as you're happy." Nic pointed out.

"How did you actually get here on this island?" Tails wondered.

"We were flying our airship as all of a sudden these Eggman robots show up and shoot us out of the sky. Then we landed here. Now we're looking for stuff to repair our ship." Nic noted.

"You're lucky, my Tailsy is the smartest guy in the world, and a wonder with technology, he'll fix it up in no time!" Fiona suggested.

"If it's for my beloved Fi's sister, I'm more then glad to help." Tails said.

Meanwhile, Rotor and Bean were discussing about explosives. "And you said you found a way to produce a metal-eating bomb? That's awesome! Which chemicals do you use?" Bean asked interested as Rotor explained some of his inventions.

"Mostly oxides which can rapidly make it rust and fall apart. It's mostly nitro-oxide based, like the air, but more oxygen an extra addition of hydrogen and…" Rotor continued.

"Great, nerd bonding!" Nack muttered. Nic raised her hand again as Nack ducked and cowered.

"I think it's cute." Dulcy noted.

"Boys and their toys." Fiona and Nic said at the same time. "So, where is that ship of yours?" Fiona asked. "Oh just past the forest and over the hills, I'll show you!" Nic said as she gestured them to come along. "Okay guys, follow me!" Fiona said as she told her friends to come.

END OF CHAPTER


	27. Pop goes the weasel

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: POP GOES THE WEASEL

Fiona, Tails, Dulcy and Rotor were joined by Nic, Nack, Bean and Polar as they searched for Nic's ship, the Bounty-One. Meanwhile, Fiona and Nic had exchanged stories of what happened when they parted ways. "And then we had to defrost Nack like a turkey!" Nic said jokingly as she explained how a mission in the cold north ended up with Nack falling in the ice cold water, much to Nack's embarrassment.

"You're not too hard on him?" Dulcy asked.

"You need to be with my brother. If he was in charge he would charge way too much for what we're hired to do, and not all our customers could afford our help. This 'charity work' would be impossible with him. Also he can get overkill in a mission so I need to watch him all the time. Even as kids we needed to watch him." Nic explained.

"Yeah, he was such a tattle tale to my step-parents, and those two were not really keen on anything we did. They wanted us to behave, show manners, act stiff and have no fun. They only saw us as heirs for their rich business empire and forced us to study hard and long. I was only adopted by the Weasels to make Nic and Nack jealous, so they'd work harder. But they didn't count on me befriending Nic." Fiona explained.

"We'd always sneak out and do things that'd piss off my folks. In the end we got the last laugh as through some good investments we took over their company and sold it out to Acorn industries, leaving them with little. That would show them for raising us without love." Nic added.

"We never knew what happened to them after Egghead's take-over, but we don't care, we never want to see them again." Fiona stated.

Dulcy was seen hanging down her head. "What's up Dulcy?" Tails asked.

"I'm thinking of my mother…she was captured and turned into a Badnik before my eyes. Fi's step-parents might not have been good parents, but my mother was…she had to raise me on her own you see since my dad left her before I was born, she worked hard to provide for me, double sometimes triple shifts, never showing how tired and broken she was for my sake." Dulcy answered.

"I know how you feel Dulcy. We all do. We all lost our families to Eggman, and we also lost some to fate. My dad died during a storm at sea when I was young. Tails doesn't even know his real parents. And Fiona…you already know." Rotor said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "It's that we all have lost something, but there is much to gain, and that is what keeps us going." Dulcy felt better after that.

"Rotor and Dulcy are sitting in a tree, K-I-S…" Bean sang, but Bark bumped him on his head, and sported a goofy grin, with crossed eyes and his tongue hanging out as he fell down comically.

"Be quiet guys, I see something out there!" Tails said as they ducked and hid behind some bushes. They saw several Eggman robots walk by, carrying some supplies. "Eggman goons. If we follow them, we finally might find the Death Egg, or at least one of his operations." He noted.

"We need to investigate this, wanna join in the mission, like old times' sake?" Fion asked Nic.

"You bet your tail I will! It will feel so nostalgic. Besides, I want to see what you've learnt in the mean time." Nic replied. With that said, they followed the robots.

They had followed them to a sandy part of Angel Island, where some ruins were, this was the Sandopolis Zone. The robots brought the supplies inside, so our heroes decided to follow them. They came across dark corridors with lit torches, sandy tombs and cracked rocks. "I wonder what Eggman would be looking for in these ruins. They don't look big or strong enough to hold the Death Egg." Tails wondered.

"Maybe he's building something to use later on, or he's looking for something…" Rotor suggested.

"But what would be building? The Death Egg has enough weapons as it is. And what could he look for? He knows we have the Chaos Emeralds, the Time Stone and the Chaos Rings." Tails asked.

"Only one way to find out, move in closer and investigate." Fiona suggested.

"But should we get so deep inside these tombs? Shouldn't we get some back-up first?" Dulcy asked worried.

"Later, if we know what we'll be going up against." Tails stated. They went deeper inside the sandy tombs. They hid in a crevice in the wall as some robots walked by, and jumped back out once they've passed, as they reached the end of the corridor.

They saw a large open space, several miner vehicles and boring machines drilling into the ground and the walls. "You're right, from the looks of things, Eggman is obviously looking for something." Fiona said to Tails.

"I know what I'd look in here for…" Nack muttered as he pulled a gun and aimed it at the rest of the gang. "A big bounty!" he said.

"Nack, have you lost what little mind you had?" Nic asked.

"No, I am thinking clear now. You see…Eggman knew you were coming. I tipped him off!" Nack said as several Egg-shaped robots with firearms came in, followed by the big boss himself. They held the heroes at gunpoint, forcing the heroes to raise their hands in the air.

"Thank you Nack. I got myself some freedom fighters and some bounty hunters who were making things different on my back on the surface. Oh yes this is a good day." Eggman said as he fondled his mustache.

"Nack, why are you doing this?" Fiona asked.

"Because I hate the lot of you! Mom and dad always loved Nic more, and trained her to be heir to the company while they barely acknowledged me, while I was the older of the twins! And when you came it only got worse as they gave more attention to the adopted daughter then their own son. And I was reduced to a mere henchmen by my sister, preventing me from acquiring glory!" Nack growled.

"Why seeking the approval of our parents? They were mean to us, they were slave drivers, forcing us to become future leaders of a company we didn't even want to run either way. And I took leadership of Team Hooligan so I could teach you some manners. I have standards, brother! And I really wanted to learn you about there being more than money, but you are always out to help yourself, never anyone else." Nic noted.

"It's because about survival of the fittest, only those who look out for their own and let no one get in their way get everything. Just look at Eggman here. So for my own gain and survival I offered a compromise, I deliver you to him and I get the cash, the Bounty-One and free to do and walk in his territories without being turned to a Badnik." Nack said.

"But…we were like a big family! I even wanted to invite you for my birthday party…" Bean said sadly.

"I never liked you too! You're annoying, annoying, ANNOYING! Every time you open that noise hole called a beak I slowly lose it. Dunno about Bark, doesn't say much but hey, I get paid for each one of you so he'll add to my bonus." Nack noted.

"That's it, no cake for you mister!" Bean said as Bark gave a dirty scowl at Nack and bared his fangs. Nack backed off a little, but still aimed his gun at them.

"Now you're done doing your monologue, I'm inclined to do mine…only I'm through playing and I take no risks anymore. Gun them down." Eggman groaned.

"Wait, I want to be the one to put out the fire in their eyes." Nack said.

"Fine…don't care as long as I'm rid of them." Eggman said.

Nack aimed his gun at the forehead of his sister. "You always thought you were the better one, but now I'll be the champ! Any last words?" Nack growled.

"Not anything I can't say in front of Tails here." Nic noted.

"I have one: Shazam!" Rotor said as some smoke-bombs on his belts exploded. The area was engulfed in smoke as the robots started shooting everywhere blindly, but when the smoke cleared the only thing that they saw were the scraps of robots, who have shot one another in the confusion, but no trace of the Freedom Fighters of Team Hooligan.

"The walrus has implanted a voice command in his bombs…clever. FIND THEM! I WANT THEM DEAD! NOT HURT, DEAD! NO DEATH TRAPS THAT TAKE HOURS, NO TOYING AROUND, I WANT THEM SHOT AT FIRST SIGHT! NOW GET THEM!" he ordered his troops as they moved out to find the intruders.

The heroes were running away through the Sandopolis ruins. "Rotor, that was genius, how did you think of voice commands for your bombs?" Tails asked.

"Oh, it's better to have my weapons have multiple trigger mechanisms in case one fails." Rotor explained.

They were halted when several Egg Pawns appeared in front of them and aimed their weapons. The heroes hid in crevices in the wall. "Okay, ugly bots ahead, time to show what we're made off!" Nic said as she handed Fiona a gun.

"It boom time now?" Bean asked.

"Yep, it boom time!" Nic assured Bean.

"Yay!" Bean said as he jumped out and started pulling bombs. "At the family reunion, let me introduce you, let me introduce you…" Bean sang as he started to toss his bombs: "Jaime, Daxter, Periwinkle, Bubba, Cory…oh and let's not forget BJ!" the bombs hit their mark as Bean's bombs annihilated the robots.

Rotor then moved in with his own bombs, this time his new model shrapnel bombs. They exploded, destroying several ones as the shrapnel dug itself into the shells of the few that didn't get affected by the blast. "Yay, now we're bomb buddies!" Bean said, enjoying the spectacle.

Nic and Fiona fired their guns, shooting down the Egg Pawns down one by one. "I see your aim has improved Nic, you always good with the firearms." Fiona complimented. "Thanks, you're not bad with them as well. But I guess you still prefer daggers?" Nic replied. Fiona pulled out a dagger, tossed it at an Egg Pawn, piercing it's head and shutting it down. She then rushed at it and pulled the dagger out. "Indeed." Fiona answered.

Tails span around his tails real fast, using them to deflect some gunfire from the Egg Pawns. As they started reloading he rushed at them and smacked and slashed with his tails and reduced them to rubble. "Whoa, now I see why you like that kid, he's strong for his age." Nic stated. "I know." Fiona said cheekily.

Bark bared his fangs and rushed as a wild beast at the Egg Pawns, grabbing them and crushing them against the walls or ripping their heads off with his bare hands. He grabbed one Egg Pawn and used it as a club to pummel the other with. After he got his share, he breathed deeply as he calmed down and crossed his arms again, as he gave a smile to his friends.

Dulcy tried channeling some rage, which wasn't hard considering Nack's betrayal and used it to launch a stream of fire to fire at the Egg Pawns, melting them to puddles. "That takes care of them, let's go!" she said as they all ran outside…

They were at the exit, and took a few steps. "Okay, maybe we should call back up now!" Dulcy suggested. They all grabbed communicators, but they didn't work.

"Damn it, Eggman must have put something to scramble our frequencies around here…oh well, we'll try to get away and come back to settle things with him later." Tails said.

However, they couldn't go any further as two shapes swooped down from the sky and landed in front of them. They looked very familiar. The first one was humanoid and crab-like, one of his scissors was long and thin and looked sharp, but his other scissor was big and looked like it was made to smash. It had four large arachnid-like legs and on his chest were two red eyes and a sharp-teeth filled mouth. The other was a humanoid insectoid with four wings, which were long and looked sharp, and had a long thin thorax.

"Crabmeat and Buzzbomber?" Tails asked, recognizing them.

"No anymore, we are no longer Crabmeat and Grabber, we are Shellcracker now. Master Eggman made us stronger than ever and in his name we'll destroy you." Shellcracker answered in a duo of voices which spoke in unison.

"And I'm no longer Buzzbomber, I'm no longer a flying pile of scrap with a mouth in it. I am Dragonfly! And I'll rip you apart, burn the remains and nuke the ashes!" Dragonfly replied, sounding rather menacing rather than the dumb tone Buzzbomber used.

"Eggman has really updated those two guys. Hope we'll be able to handle them." Dulcy said worried.

"They may be stronger now, but they're still the robotic generals whose butts we kicked many times before! Let's get them!" Tails suggested. They charged at the two, splitting in two groups.

Rotor, Dulcy and Bark took on Shellcracker. Rotor tossed several bombs at him, and while they knocked back Shellcracker, he didn't seem to have a scratch on him. Shellcracker launched his big claw on a chain like a grappling hook, and Rotor jumped aside to dodge as the claw impacted on the wall of one of the ruins and took the entire building down. He then lashed with his long thin claw, and Rotor barely avoided it as Shellcracker cut a big stone pillar clean in two. Bark moved in and tackled Shellcracker, but he didn't get pushed back one inch as the polar bear was swatted away with a swipe from his hand. He opened his big claw and a huge missile came out. Dulcy moved in and fired a fireball at it, and destroyed it, but the explosion still sent her flying back a little.

Shellcracker jumped up in the sky and spun his arachnid legs around like a helicopter and rushed at the heroes, knocking them aside with his spinning legs. Rotor pulled out a pipe bomb and tossed it at his face, but only succeeded in pissing Shellcracker off as he fired lightning from long thin claw and nearly fried our heroes. "He sure is tough…Eggman modified him good. My bombs aren't working." Rotor moaned.

Maybe this will!" Dulcy said as she fired flames from her Hand, but it didn't faze Shellcracker. She then sent out a stream of ice, but Shellcracker broke free almost instantly.

"Wait, that's it, Dulcy! Switch fire and ice rapidly while attacking." Rotor suggested.

"Okay, if you say so…" Dulcy said as she attacked with fire and ice some more. The attacks separately didn't do much, but the rapid switching between hot and cold started weakening Shellcrackers armor as it cracked.

"It's working! That means I can do this!" Rotor said as he tossed another bomb at Shellcracker, this time the bomb did some damaged and cracked the shell further. "Now Bark!" Rotor said. Bark charged at Shellcracker and punched him hard, in his weakened state took some more damage.

Dragonfly inhaled deeply and launched a stream of fire from his mouth, Tails, Bean, Nic and Fiona scattering as the avoided the attack. Dragonfly then pulled its wings out, and they transformed into a pair of double swords. He rushed at our heroes and swiped at them with the weapons. Since he had two weapons with decent range, moving in close was no option so they tried firing their guns and toss their bombs, but Dragonfly span his swords around real quickly and deflected them all.

Tails moved in and clashes his tails with Dragonfly's swords, but he was struggling to keep up. "Your tails might count as two swords, but mine count as four!" he berated him.

"Hey, we're still here too!" Fiona said as she and Nic fired their guns, which forced Dragonfly to use one of his double blades to deflect the bullets, as he had one left to fend of Tails.

"Bombs away!" Bean said as Dragonfly's attention was divided and he pelted him with bombs. Dragonfly was sent flying by the impact.

Shellcracker and Dragonfly growled at their defeat. "Not possible, we were enhanced! We shouldn't be losing like this!" Shellcracker moaned.

"Never mind, we need to retreat and get repaired. We'll get them next time!" Dragonfly growled.

"We hope you're right." Shellcracker said as the two retreated.

"That was close, Eggman really cranked things up with those two." Tails said panting.

"Eggman wasn't taking any risks after Sonic broke free from his Badnik suits. Now we better move out of range of Eggman's scramblers and warn the others. Eggman is looking for something and we need to prevent him from finding it. And we'll need all the help we can get!" Rotor noted.

"What you think has happened to Nack?" Dulcy asked.

"I don't know…can't say I care much. Maybe Eggman turns him into a Badnik for his failure. Or he escaped, he can be crafty if he needs to." Nic noted.

"I feel guilty, I cast a shadow over him and he felt pushed aside by everyone. I feel responsible for creating him." Fiona said.

"My brother was always a rotten apple, always will be. He was born that way. We're not to blame. He has my parents mean genes. Am I glad the genes failed them when it came to me." Nic added.

"We're still far from done with Eggman…let's go home and prepare for the worst." Tails suggested.

"Hey, we're are still alive are we? Look at the bright side of life! The bright side is we got to have a lot of fun boom time and now there's no Nack to be the party pooper! Let's all have pizza, my treat!" Bean said joyfully.

"I wonder how the world looks like through your eyes, Bean." Fiona said smiling at the funny antics of the duck.

"It's a combination of candyland with a bomb factory." Bean answered.

Everyone laughed at the funny duck's quote, before they set off and head back to the echidna temple. "You'll like my other friends. Muttski is arguably as nutty as Bean but he's a good cook. And Sally might be a bit serious but she's the coolest chick there is. And then there's Sonic, Tails' big bro, he's cocky but cool…" Fiona explained along the way.

TO BE CONTINUED


	28. The Treasure of Angel Island

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE TREASURE OF ANGEL ISLAND

Last time, Fiona met up with her old friend and sister figure Nic and her own group called Team Hooligan. However, thing turned out bad when Nack, Nic and Fi's brother betrayed them to Eggman and Eggman's modified generals gave them a hard time. They managed to get away, but now they have to get help from the other Freedom Fighters before Eggmand finds what he was looking for in the Sandopolis ruins.

So they returned to the echidna temple to meet up with their friends. They were immediately greeted by their friend. "Hey guys, where were you? You missed breakfast and the lunch. I know you love to practice, but you took it a bit far…oh, who are your friends?" Knuckles said.

"These are Nic, the step-sister I talked about and her friends Bean and Bark. But we don't have time for that. Eggman is at the Sandopolis ruins and he's digging for something. We barely managed to escape. Whatever Eggman is looking for, if it's important we can't let him have it." Fiona answered.

"That does not sound good…why won't you eat something to regain some strength as we get acquainted with your friends and at the same time think of an attack plan." Knuckles suggested.

Muttski immediately came eye to eye with Bean: "Hello! Muttski's name is Muttski. Muttski thinks it's nice meeting you."

"Okay…but who is this Muttski guy?" Bean asked, not being familiar with Muttski's speech pattern."

"Muttski is Muttski!"

"I know that, but who are you?"

"Muttski is Muttski!"

"No, lemme give an example: I am Bean."

"Duck is not a bean, duck is a duck."

"No, I'm Bean the Dynamite!"

"No, duck is obviously a duck, not a bean or a dynamite."

"I am a duck yes, but I'm called Bean the Dynamite!"

"Muttski doesn't understand anymore…"

"Who is this Muttski guy you keep mentioning?"

"Bean, that dog you're talking to is Muttski, he just refers to himself in the third person." Fiona explained.

"Wait, there's three of him?" Bean asked. Fiona slapped her forehead. "No, it means he refers to himself by his name, not with 'I' or 'me'." Fiona added. She sighed as she said: "Let's just get some grub and start preparing ourselves."

"By the way, has Sonic recovered yet?" Tails asked. At that point, Sally and a now healthy looking Sonic came in, Sally replying: "You bet he has!" Sally's hair looked messy and she looked like she was hastily dressed, not to mention she had a dreamy look on her face. The rest of the heroes weren't sure if they wanted to know what happened.

"So little bro, I've heard Eggman's up to no good again. I still owe him a butt-whooping after what he tried doing to me." Sonic said as he stretched himself a bit. "So, are we going to live forever, or are we going to teach Eggman a lesson?"

"We will. But what I haven't understood up until now is, what is so important that Eggman wants to find that he didn't come after our Chaos Emerald, Chaos Rings and Time stone? Is he looking after something that is more powerful than that?" Tails stated.

"Knuckles, you know something about it?" Sally asked the echidna guardian.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could, but my memory is so fuzzy…I only know about the Chaos Emeralds, and that's because of the ancient writing I've deciphered: 'The servers are the seven Chaos... Chaos is power, enriched by the heart... The controller exists to unify the chaos!'" Knuckles explained.

"Wait, you said 'the controller'. What if the controller is the one thing Eggman is after. What if the controller is the true treasure of Angel Island?" Tails realized.

"I always assumed the controller would be someone controlling the power of the Emeralds. But…yes, I start to remember something. There is another treasure on Angel Island. It's only vague, but I see…we must stop Eggman right away." Knuckles realized.

"Then we move out and put a monkey wrench into his plans. He cannot be allowed to repower the Death Egg with that treasure." Sonic said confidently.

"I know I can't ask this of you Nic, since it's not your fight, but we can use all the help we can get if we want to stop Eggman. Can I count on you?" Fiona asked. "Are you kidding me? I'm in on the action. Besides, my previous employers have asked me to deal with Eggman robots before, this will be another mission for me. But only I have my sister fighting besides me." Nic answered. With that said, the heroes prepared themselves to go back to Sandopolis.

"Master Eggman, we have found something!" Shellcracker warned Eggman.

"I hope it's something useful." Eggman asked. He moved towards where Shellcracker was as he saw what they have dug up: a secret entrance with more echidna writing. Eggman grabbed his translator and read the inscriptions: "The controller of the seven chaos lies behind this door, but those who seek it's power out of greed shall never gain it's power, only the prayer can release it. Blah, blah, blah, just tear down the door and let's get in." Eggman ordered.

Shellcracker aimed his big scissor and fired it, but it bounced right of the wall and back into Shellcracker's face, knocking him back. "We are so sorry…" Shellcracker moaned.

"This wall is enhanced by an echidna spell…only the prayer can release it. But who is the one who would know the prayer…I didn't find it in the scrolls and the writing I've uncovered. Oh wait, the guardian! I need the echidna guardian." Eggman noted.

"Shall I go and get the Guardian for you, master?" Dragonfly asked.

"No, not necessary, they'll come here by themselves. After all, they know I'm after it and will try to prevent me from having it. Only I'll have it anyway in the end. Make sure to not make it too easy for them to get here, but I need that echidna alive!" Eggman stated.

The heroes overlooked the Sandopolis ruins. "Okay, no need to be subtle, since Eggman knows we're coming for him. So I have only a few words of advice: hit them hard, hit them fast and take them down!" Sally said.

"My cup of tea!" Sonic said with a cocky grin as the heroes, joined by Team Hooligan (which Nic really thought of changing the name off) rushed into the ruins, where several Egg Pawns were bound to be waiting for them.

Sonic led the charge, using his speed and homing attacks to clear a way through the group of Egg Pawns. Sonic had not trouble with these Egg Pawns, but Sonic was surprised to see when several smaller versions of the Caterkiller they had fought at the Marble Zone (Sandworms to be exact) popped form the ground and wrapped themselves around Sonic. Sonic vibrated his molecules really hard, heating up his body and the robots, who let go of him before Sonic cut them in half with his axe kick.

Sally pulled out her tonfa, combined them in the bo staff and switched it to spear mode, piercing multiple Egg Pawns on it like a Swish Kebab and then tossed the lifeless remains of with a swipe, knocking the inactive robots in some others before she performed a spinning swipe move to cut the Egg Pawns in half.

Tails rushed at the Egg Pawns, rushing by them, and it at first appeared he didn't touch them, but when Tails showed to have several nuts and bolts in his hands, the Egg Pawns fell apart. Several others moved in, only to get cut into half by the namesakes of the kitsune.

Fiona dodged some swipes from a lance wielded by one of the Egg Pawns. She kicked his head off, then grabbed it's lance, pierced another Egg Pawn with it before grabbing that Pawn's gun and shot several others with the snatched gun. Nic herself shot several Egg Pawns through the head with her own guns, scrapping them. Fiona grabbed a second gun from a scrapped Egg Pawn. The two stood back to back, each wielding two guns and started shooting all around them at the robots.

Antoine grabbed his sword and clashed with the blades several Egg Pawns were holding, but Anoine's superior skills caused him to gain the upper hand and disarm them before slicing them apart. A single pawn had two guns and fired at will at Antoine, who just rushed at the Egg Pawn, slashed once and the robot stopped. It seemed nothing happened, until it fell apart in two perfect halves.

Bunnie extended her arms as her cybernetic fists punched all the Egg Pawns from distance. She saw several more coming, and grabbed the ceiling. She then pulled herself up on the ceiling and extended her foots to deliver a kick to the Egg Pawns, knocking them over. She lets go of the ceiling as she morphed her hands into guns and blasted apart the Pawns.

Amy and Lily fired arrows and darts galore, piercing and scrapping any mechs as they came along. Several Sandworms crawled from the walls and floor, as Amy took Lily's hand, who delivered a spinning kick attack with Amy from on her Extreme gear, knocking the Sandworms back and destroying them.

Muttski found himself surrounded by Sandworms. "Snakebots, why does it have to be snakebots?" Muttski asked as some of them lunged at him, as he jumped over thme and avoided their fangs, as he kicked several of them in the wall, shattering them on impact. Muttski grabbed several ones by their necks and tied them up in knots before tossing them away. He grabbed another one, smashed it's head apart in a wall, grabbed out an Indiana Jones hat and used it's headless serpentine body as a whip to smash the other Sandworms.

Rotor tossed several bombs with homing-in shrapnel at the Sandworms, making sure those were out of the way instantly. Several Egg Pawns arrived, and Rotor pulled out several gloves, with red small objects on the knuckles. As he punched the Egg Pawns, the red objects transferred from the gloves to the punched Egg Pawns before they exploded. Another one of Rotor's inventions, the Dynamite Knuckle!

Bark rushed at the Egg Pawns, grabbed two of their faces and knocked them in one another, before grabbing an arm of a scrapped Egg Pawn and used it as a weapon to clobber the others with.

"Great job, Big B!" Bean complimented, as Bark smiled at Bean and gave him the thumbs up. Bean grabbed one of his bombs, stuck out his tongue and closed on eye to aim, like he was bowling and let his bomb roll across the ground like a bowling ball, as it rolled into the crowd of Egg Pawns and blew them sky-high. "Strike!"

Dulcy used her Hand of Fate to freeze several Egg Pawns to the ground. Several others came in as Dulcy rushed at them. She concentrated on Sally's training and channeled both rage and joy at the same time, as she flew at the Egg Pawns, engulfed in a fiery aura as she totally destroyed them as she flew by them. She landed and panted due to the strain, but felt proud for having unlocked this power.

Knuckles punches using his namesakes to smash several Egg Pawns to bits. As several more approached, Knuckles punched the ground, cracks appeared across the floor, which crawled up to the walls and the ceilings, and rubble fell from it, crushing the Egg Pawns.

They entered the inner sanctum, where they saw Eggman and his generals Shellcracker and Dragonfly. "All right Eggman, how many times we need to kick your butt before you'll learn, you can't defeat us." Sonic taunted.

"I have no time for your witty banter. Generals, attack! Drill vehicles, move out!" Eggman ordered. Shellcracker and Dragonfly rushed at the heroes, while several Egg Pawns boarded the drilling vehicles (which looked like the first boss of Sonic 2) and our heroes confronted them.

Sonic and Sally fought Shellcracker, the latter launching his claw on a chain at our heroes, who jumped aside to dodge, before he pulled it out and swings it around like a mace, our Sonic and Sally dodging using their agility. As the claw passed them again, Sally planted her bo staff to plant the chain into the ground, making Shellcracker get stuck, as Sonic homed in on the head, which knocked Shellcracker back.

But Shellcracker got loose and as Sonic tried to get the drop on him again, he electrified his longer thinner claw and lashed at Sonic, who was shocked and knocked back. Sally grabbed her spear and stabbed Shellcracker, but his modified and thicker armor caused it to get stuck without Shellcracker being affected. He grabbed the spear and swings Sally around on it before slamming her in the ground. Shellcracker raised his scissors and prepared to smash the dazed Sonic and Sally.

But two blades rushed through the air, slashed at Shellcracker, knocking him back and scratching his armor, as our heroes looked up as the blades returned to the owner as boomerangs. "Slicer!" the two greeted joyfully. "Like I said: I would come to your aid when you'd need it. So, let's get him!" Slicer said as he jumped up and slashed at Shellcracker, knocking him back.

Sally then swept Shellcracker's legs with her bo staff and made him topple as Sonic jumped up, curled into a ball and shot down, smashing Shellcracker deeper into the ground, leaving an imprint. Since Shellcracker was durable, Sonic kept repeating this a few more times until Shellcracker gave in and fainted.

Dragonfly used his wings as a pair of double blades again against Antoine and Bunnie. Though Antoine was a skilled swordsman, he only had a single sword on him, while Dragonfly had technically four, and overpowered him. Bunnie extended her arm and grabbed one of Dragonfly's wrist, preventing him from moving that arm. As Dragonfly continued fighting off Antoine with one arm and double blade, he had a power struggle with Bunnie to get free.

He breathed fire at Bunnie to force her to let go, as Bunnie dodged, but she flew up using her jet boosters and flew at Dragonfly, thrusting her feet forward in a double kick. Dragonfly put his double blade in front of him to block the impact, but as Bunnie tried to push him back in mid-air, she extended her arms around the blades and punched him in the face.

She then grabbed the double blade with her arm and threw it at Antoine, who grabbed it and now fought off Dragonfly with his own weapons. Antoine delivered three slashes, two with his double blade and a single one with his own, slicing apart the other double blade of Dragonfly. But he wasn't done, as he pulled out a spiky mace on a chain and swinged it around Antoine dodging. Bunnie and Antoine attacked at the same time, Dragonfly swinging his mace again, but Bunnie caught it in her hands and crushed it, as Antoine stabbed Dragonfly in the shoulder with his own blade.

Dragonfly screamed in pain as he smacks Antoine with his hand and pulled his blade out of his shoulder, before Bunnie got the drop on him and punched him out cold.

The other Freedom Fighters didn't have as much trouble with the drill vehicles. Tails jumped on one, planting a wrench on the joint between the drill and the actual vehicle, making the drill block onto itself before it exploded. Fiona sliced the head of a pilot off as she took control of the vehicle and used it to ram into another drill vehicle from the site.

Nic just used her guns to aim at the pilots of the drill vehicles, who once they were shot lost control of the vehicles as they rammed into one another. Bean and Rotor both pulled out bombs and started blowing the vehicles apart. Bark picked up a piece of rubble and tossed it at another vehicle and knocked it over. Amy and Lily then finished the pilot off with arrows and darts.

Knuckles had set his sights on Eggman: "EGGMAN! I will no longer tolerate you tainting the sanctuary of my island with your presence!" he shouted as he rushed at the mad doctor, who surprisingly managed to grab Knuckles' wrist as he tried punching him and toss him away.

"You call this place a sanctuary? This place used to be a battleground for a great war. Believe me, this place was already tainted before I entered. I know, I've studied the manuscripts." Eggman stated.

"You have the manuscripts? Give them to me!" Knuckles said as he rushed back at Eggman, who side-stepped, grabbed the back of Knuckles' head and pushed him into the ground.

"You sure you want to know? Your people were a bloodthirsty race bent on war with one another over the power of chaos. You want to know what horrible people your race was?" Eggman said.

"I've got to know, even if the truth is horrible, I am an individual and I'm making my own choices. I only want to know where I came from." Knuckles stated.

"Then be a good boy and say the prayer for me, it's the only thing that can open this door. Behind it is something that belonged to your people, something that can help you find the answers. I'm willing to share them with you, if you help me…" Eggman said.

Knuckles thought about it for a bit, but then he said: "I waited for the answers for so long, I can wait a bit longer, the ends do not justify the means. I won't betray the Freedom Fighters."

"A shame…because whether you choose to or not, you'll say that prayer!" Eggman said as he snapped his fingers, and several Sandworms came in, having wrapped themselves around Dulcy and holding her in place. Dulcy was unable to concentrate to use her hand cause she was slowly being choked. "I can't use the hand, but she can…" Eggman said as he moved towards her. Unfortunately, the other heroes were too busy with Eggman's generals and the drill vehicles to help her.

"Don't hurt her!" Knuckles said as he moved towards Eggman, who summoned more Sandwoms which wrapped around Knuckles and held him in place. The Sandworms wouldn't be able to hold him down for long, but long enough for Eggman to make him sing. Eggman placed a device on Dulcy's gauntlet as the relic glowed and forced its power of truth on Knuckles.

"So…what is the prayer?" Eggman asked. Knuckles tried resisting, but the gauntlet's power was too much: "The servers are the seven Chaos... Chaos is power, enriched by the heart... The controller exists to unify the chaos!" he muttered. The wall opened up, and the treasure of Angel Island was revealed. Eggman stepped in the secret room to claim it.

"Dulcy!" Rotor had noticed Dulcy in peril after blasting apart one of the drill vehicles. He rushed towards her and pulled the Sandworms off, Dulcy coughed as she regained some air, Rotor sighing in relief that he was in time. Meanwhile Knuckles had broken free from the Sandworms.

"Rotor, Eggman is at the treasure, we must stop him." He said as he pointed at the opened door. Eggman stood next to a green emerald, who was larger than any Chaos Emerald, even larger than the average Mobian.

"The controller…the Master Emerald. I found it at last…too bad Knuckles. If you had accepted my offer, you would have received the secrets you seek. But I have to go now, I got a Death Egg to power. Adios!" Eggman said as he stepped on top of the emerald, pressed a button on his belt and teleported himself and the emerald away.

"No!" Knuckles said as he tried to jump at Eggman as he teleported away, only to be too late and crash in the floor upon missing Eggman.

Shellcracker and Dragonfly teleported away too as the remaining drill vehicles were scrapped by the freedom fighters. Knuckles caught up again with the rest of the heroes. "We're too late…the treasure of Angel Island…the Master Emerald, Eggman has it!" he said, feeling sad for his failure.

"Oh no…" Sonic said. "It's not too late, we can still stop Eggman before he uses the emerald. We still got the Chaos Emeralds and the Chaos Rings and the time stone." Tails stated.

"The Master Emerald is more powerful than any of them. He has the advantage…I'm sorry, I hesitated when Eggman confronted me with the answers to my past. I didn't take his offer, but I allowed myself to be distracted long enough for him to take it." Knuckles replied.

"It's not your fault. Eggman uses dirty tricks to get his way. But he hasn't won yet. He has the Master Emerald, but we'll get it back. Last time we managed to destroy the death egg, we may do it again. The new Death Egg's more powerful, but we have all grown, in numbers and in skills. We'll get him and make him pay." Sonic said.

"We'll need some major preparations for this one. I'll need to modify all our weaponry, we'll need to train hard before the storm comes, and we need all the help we can get." Tails added.

"You can count me and my team in. If that Death Egg is as dangerous as you say it is, we can't let it take to the sky." Nic assured them all.

"Knuckles, I promise once we defeat Eggman, we'll help you find the answers." Sally assured Knuckles.

"Thanks. But the answers aren't the most important thing right now. There is a world out there that is under the rule of that madman, and we're going to release it. Once the world regains its freedom, then the answers can come to me. The world needs me more right now…and I promise I'll help you fight to win." Knuckles said.

The battle was far from over…

TO BE CONTINUED


	29. Death Egg Mark 2 Part I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: DEATH EGG MARK II, PART I

Last time, the villainous Dr. Eggman has found the true treasure of Angel Island, the Master Emerald. Having claimed it and using it to power his new Death Egg, he is about to get his new plan in motion soon, while our heroes are about to engage in a fight that will make the one on the previous Death Egg look like a cakewalk.

The heroes were inside the echidna temple, all nervous cause they didn't know when Eggman would strike. He had his Death Egg, his power source and the means to wipe them out, but the question was when he would go after them. "We can't wait any longer, any second we wait is a second Eggman gets stronger." Sonic said impatiently.

"Yeah but we have to, we'll only waste time and energy if we go looking for Eggman without knowing where to start or where to go. If only we had a way of tracking him down more easily, but since last time he has updated his cloaking and anti-Warp Ring tech." Sally stated.

"I have improved the Warp Rings since then but I still need a way to make them lock onto Eggman's Death Egg. If only we had an anchor, a signature of him." Tails explained. Tails stared at the unused Warp Ring in his hand. "Wait, I got it! Eggman is a dark energy being made of Chaos energy right? He created the Chaos Rings to absorb excess energy from the incomplete emerald set! But since he created them, maybe something of his energy signature has rubbed off on the rings."

Tails grabbed the Chaos Rings and concentrated, the Chaos Rings started to float and glow and surround the War Ring, before zapping the ring with their energy. The Chaos Rings then fell down, as Tails picked up the Warp Ring. The center now sported a mirror-like surface, in which the Death Egg was visible. "Yes, I found the Death Egg, this warp ring will bring us there!" Tails stated.

"Once again, the grey matter of our little buddy did it again." Sonic said happily.

"He truly has wisdom and smarts beyond his years." Slicer stated. "You know, you returned to us faster than expected." Sonic said to Slicer. "I know, but Eggman also carried out his plans faster than expected. But once our mission is successful, I can resume my quest." Slicer replied.

"You're going to go all out there by yourself? If you travel the world don't do it alone." Nic said to Slicer.

"But who would travel with me? The Freedom fighters have a duty themselves and I have to search for my own place in the world, which is going to be a blind search." Slicer asked.

"You can come with us, me and my gang travel a lot. Sure, we're bounty hunters, but we have a code of honor we follow. Besides if your run is going to be blind, it wouldn't matter if you come with us or not, right?" Nic said.

"Sounds like a good offer…I'll keep it in mind. But wouldn't you mind a former Eggman robot on the team?" Slicer asked.

"Why not, you're good in my sister's book, and you're definitely different from those other bots I've fought. Besides, you'll be the first one I'll have a proper conversation with. Bark doesn't speak, my brother was an a-hole and Bean…" Nic answered as an explosion in the other room was heard.

A black and scorched Bean and Muttski were sent flying in the room where the heroes were now. "Hi Nic, me and my new pal Muttski were just testing out our 'Extreme cooking'. It's a hoot!" Bean said happily.

"I see now." Slicer said, realizing what Nic was talking about.

"Okay, now everyone is accounted for, Tails has finished a Warp Ring that can bring us to the Death Egg. We barely made it out alive last time, but this time it's going to be even harder to fight our way through, so we got to stay on our toes. Hit them hard and fast before they can do the same. We might not get out of this alive, but if we can give our lives to give the people on Mobius another day to live, then we did good. What I want to say is, that it was a honor to fight alongside you all." Sally speeched.

"C'mon Sal, it sounds like we won't make it. You know we do, we always do. You know why? Because that Eggman claims to be smart, but in fact he's ignorant. He doesn't understand what we have, and we'll use that to take him down. Friendship, love and brotherhood are our weapons. I know, sounds corny, but it's true. Eggman can knock us down, but we'll always get up again. Cause we are Freedom Fighters!" Sonic said. All the other Freedom fighters, plus Team Hooligan and Slicer joined in.

"So, are we going to get out there or are we going to stand around and turn our thumbs? Let's get through that warp ring!" Knuckles said. Tails took Knuckles' advice to heart as they opened the warp ring and stepped through.

They arrived at the prison quarters of the Death Egg. Most cells were empty, showing that the prisoners already have been turned to Badniks. But there was one prisoner left: "Hey sis, guys…Fi! Lemme outta here!" Nack said.

"So that's what happened to you after your failure. I hope you're comfortable in there, cause for all I care you can stay there forever." Nic said angry.

"Hey, the big Egg threatened me. Tell me, what would you have done?" Nack argued.

"I'd have died before I'd have forsaken my friends and sister. It's your own fault Nack. I've given you many chances, but you took none. So bye." Nic said as she and the others left.

Bean snuck up to Nack and whispered: "Hey Nack!" "What?" "Don't drop the soap!" he said before giggling immaturely and follow the remaining Freedom Fighters.

"Okay Nicole, I'll be plugging you in once more, but I'm sure Eggman will have created a more powerful program to protect his mainframe. You up to it?" Sally asked her handheld friend.

"I have been training just like you guys, I'll be fine." Nicole assured Sally as she downloaded herself in the mainframe once more. Once again she found herself in the dark gritty mainframe with blood-red circuits around her. And once again she found herself faced with polygonal programs with sharp edges, red circuits, and cycloptic egg-shaped heads.

Nicole said as she let her Tron-like armor completely engulf her body. The angelic wings and the visor erupted once more as she created some data blades in her hands. She flew at them and cut them apart with her blades, shattering them like glass in the progress. The fired data blasts at her, but she uses her wings as a shield to protect herself before she used a spin attack with her large wings, knocking the programs away.

Larger, tank-shaped programs moved in and unleashed barrages of data blasts at Nicole, who flew agilely to dodge the attacks before she went for their heads and pierced it with her data blades, shattering them all as well.

Then several flying jet-shaped programs moved in which could start to keep up with her in the air. Nicole shifted from the data blades to data blasts as she tossed orbs of data energy at the jets, destroying them as well. "No time to waste on the small-fries, need to find the master program." She thought to herself as she avoided more programs, looking for the big one.

As she flew further and deeper inside the digital realm, she suddenly had to stop in mid-air as she saw a huge wall of glowing red data emerge: a firewall. She pelted the wall with data blasts, but it stood strong. Nicole got annoyed as she created a real huge data blade, comparable to Cloud Strife's buster sword as she slashed at the wall with it, tearing it down to shards of data.

Behind the firewall she saw a huge program that was a splitting image of Eggman's head. "The doctor has some serious ego issues. I knew his head was big, but this…I just made a joke, Sonic is rubbing off on me." Nicole noted. The huge Eggman head opened his mouth and launched a huge stream data, which Nicole barely managed to dodge. "Okay, now it's just you and me!" she noted as she rushed at the program, her data buster sword ready.

The remaining Freedom fighters, Slicer and Team Hooligan were halted when they were confronted by Badniks, Egg Pawns, Kama-Kama's, Asterons, Spikes, Saruders and Buzzers, the charge led by Shellcracker and Dragonfly. "Say your prayers Freedom Fighters, cause today will be your last day!" Dragonfly said. "Cause we'll destroy you in the name of our master!" Shellcracker added.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired of these guys, let's go get them." Sonic said as he and the others engaged the robots. Sonic immediately started homing in on some foes, knocking them back or shattering them before he punches some mechanical faces in with his gauntlet-covered fists and launched some Axe kicks. He then peeled out, and used the augmented speed to give his punch more power as he punched a single robot, which was sent flying in the others at high speed, scrapping them all.

Shellcracker roared as he launched his big claw as a grappling hook, aiming at Sonic, who jumped over it, as it got stuck in the ground. Sonic ran on the chain and spin-dashed into Shellcracker's head, knocking him back, but also getting him loose from the floor. Shellcracker wanted to turn his attention to Sonic again, but then Sally, who had just scrapped some baddies with her tonfa, jumped up, kicked Shellcracker in the back of his head, turning his attention to her. "Sonic, you stop Eggman, I'll handle this seafood platter." Sally stated. Sonic nodded and rushed off towards Eggman.

Tails was confronted by Dragonfly, who held his first set of wings like a double blade, while with the other one held his spiky chain mace. He swung his mace around, and Tails barely jumped over it as he performed a spin attack with his tails and knocked Dragonfly back. He let go of his mace, but he pulled his second set of wings, now facing Tails with two double blades, swinging them around menacingly.

But as he approached Tails, something burst through the wall of the Death Egg and rammed into the insectoid robot, sending him flying, crashing through another wall as he lay there dazed. "Glad you got my signal Tori!" Tails stated.

"Yeah, all fine and dandy, but you get your twin-tailed behind in gear and give that egg-bellied jerk a butt-whooping!" Tori replied.

"Right…Fiona! Tori's mecha mode is largely operational, but it needs to be activated manually. You can take the wheel for her for the fight?" Tails asked his girlfriend.

Fiona just was busy cutting of the head of an Egg Pawn before knocking out a Badnik as she said: "No prob, sweetie! You help Sonic, me and Tori shall handle it." Tails smiled as he thanked her and rushed off behind Sonic. Fiona jumped into Tori and pulled some levers. Since she spent so much time with Tails, she also knew all of Tori's workings.

Tori's form started to morph, her tail splitting in half to become a pair of legs, her wings retracting as the front of the plane split apart too, and two mechanical arms spouted. The polit seat replaced itself to become the upper torso. The propeller of the plane became a double blade like Dragonfly's wings. The wings disconnect to form a shield which Tori grabbed and held out in front. Then a part of Tori reshaped into a helmet, sliding over Fiona's head, as Tori has become a mechanical battle armor for her.

"Let's get this clown together!" Fiona stated.

"If you leave out every joke related to 'fighting as one', then let's do it!" Tori added. The mechanical battlesuit with Fiona inside, rushed at Dragonfly who had regained his senses, and a huge battle between the two broke out.

Knuckles was punching around, scrapping the robots with his powerful fists as they came. He saw a huge group of Kama-Kama's approaching. Knuckles ripped a plate from the wall, charged at it with them, and crushed the robots with it between it and the opposite wall. Several Saruders jumped from the ceiling on him, but Knuckles kicked and punched them off him. "Hah, is that all you can do?" Knuckles asked, as suddenly he felt something smash in both sides of his head, dazing him and making him stagger.

It was Coconuts who had smashed him with his cymbals, who unlike Dragonfly and Shellcracker wasn't modified because he was loyal to Eggman, had no honor unlike Slicer and was actually competent. Knuckles recovered quickly and tried punching Coconuts, who uses his monkey-like speed and agility to dodge it before tossing his cymbals, which Knuckles barely dodged aside a small cut in his tribal outfit, but not deep enough to scratch his skin. The cymbals returned as boomerangs, which Knuckles dodged again. "I hate monkeys." Knuckles groaned.

Coconuts hooted as he charged at Knuckles, only to get frozen in a block of ice. It was Dulcy. "It's better if you go and help Sonic. I'll handle the monkey robot." She said. Knuckles agreed as he went off behind Sonic. Coconuts broke free from his ice prison as Dulcy launched a stream of fire, which Coconuts blocked with his cymbals, who acted as heat-proof shields.

The other Freedom Fighters had been busy trashing some footsoldiers and knocking out the Badniks harmlessly. Nic was using her guns to shoot down some grunts. Bean pulled out some bombs as Nic reminded him: "Be careful Bean, Fiona warned there are people inside the Badnik suits, so be careful with the bombs!"

"Don't worry, this is a job of Harry and Stanislaus!" Bean said as he tossed a few bombs at the Badniks, releasing a sleeping gas that knocked them out. "Yay, now the Badniks are asleep, I can unleash my true arsenal." Bean said as he pulled out a huge amount of bombs at once. The robotic footsoldier's optics widened at seeing that much bombs and moved back, and despite the fact they can't feel fear, they have awareness of the danger…

Nack was inside his cell, playing with his thumbs as the explosion from Bean's bombs blew a hole in the wall, and scattered the parts of destroyed Badniks. Nack peeked out the hole with his head as he said: "Hey, I'm free! Later losers!" he said as he walked out, only for a dismembered Egg Pawn head to land on his, becoming stuck as Nack tried to pull it off.

"Egg Pawn!" Bean said as he grabbed a baseball bat and started clobbering Nack with it. "Ouch! You idiot, I'm Nack!" the purple weasel said, as Bean shouted: "Nack!" and started resuming his clobbering.

Bark was busy pulling the heads of some Egg Pawns up as he saw Bean clobbering Nack and pointed at him with his thumb as he got Nic's attention. "Nah, I won't stop him, I hope Bean can beat some sense into him. Though since it's Bean we're talking about…oh well, let's just continue shooting stuff!" Nic said as she kept shooting at robots.

Shellcracker tried lashing at Sally with his longer thinner claw, as Sally back flipped to dodge the attacks, before she used her bo staff to jump up and then swat Shellcracker's face. He grabbed the bo staff before she could swat him again and swung the bo staff around, knocking Sally into a wall. Shellcracker wanted to smash her with his big claw, but Sally rolled aside, but realized she had dropped her bo staff. She tried to get back at it, but Shellcracker stood in her way.

But then Slicer came in, after he had chopped some robots to bit, grabbed the bo staff, jumped over Shellcracker and handed Sally the staff back. "I think this one's yours. Now, as the one who showed me my new path, would you honor me by fighting alongside me against this monstrosity?" Slicer stated.

"I'd be honored myself, my friend." Sally stated as they took a battle stance and faced Shellcracker together.

Rotor was scrapping some Egg Pawns with his Dynamite knuckles, punching them with them and blowing them up at the same time. He grabbed some homing Shrapnel bombs and used it to bomb some Buzzers. Some Badniks came in, and Rotor activated the 'Boomer' on his Dynamite Knuckle, which once he clapped released a huge shockwave that knocked the Badniks over without harming the people inside.

In the distance he saw how Dulcy, despite the power of her Hand of Fate, wasn't able to catch up with Coconuts' speed and agility as he dodged all fireballs and ice shots. Coconuts managed to dodge another attack as he jump kicked Dulcy before smashing her head with a cymbal of his.

But then Rotor moved in and used the Boomer function on his Dynamite Knuckle to knock Coconuts back with a shockwave, before helping Dulcy get up. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Felt better, but I'm sick of getting tossed around by this simian." Dulcy answered.

"You're not on your own, I'll gladly watch your back in battle." Rotor said.

"Okay then, let's fight together!" Dulcy said as she and Rotor faced Coconuts together.

"It's Muttski time!" Muttski said as he, in a burst of smoke, quickly shifted into a red spandex outfit, red helmet and a white scarf. "Hero of justice, Muttski Rider!" Muttski introduced himself. The robotic minions look baffled. "Muttski Rider kick!" Muttski said as he used a powerful kick to take down some Egg Pawns in a domino effect. Muttski picked up an Egg Pawn's sword as he said: "Muttski Break Slash!" as he slashed at the Egg pawns, cutting them clean in half. Muttski turned around and posed as the Egg Pawns blew up in the background.

Antoine cut up some Egg Pawns with his swords, as he blocked some sword swipes from Kama-Kama's as he cut off one of their blades and grabbed it in his other hand, now shifting to a two-blade fighting style and starting two times more robots. He pierced a Kama-Kama with the stolen blade, before using the pierced Kama-Kama as shield against another one, making the Kama-Kama being pierced twice. After that he tossed aside the Kama-Kama that was pierced on his sword and delivered two horizontal slashes with his swords, cutting the Kama-Kama in three.

Bunnie used a few stretch punches to knock out some Egg Pawns from a distance. She then fired on the remaining ones, blasting them apart with her arm cannons. Several Egg Saucers flew in, as she flew up and punched one and scrapped it, as she grabbed a second and tossed it as a Frisbee and tossed it in a group of Egg Pawns, destroying them.

Amy fired arrow after arrow at the Egg Pawns from a distance, clogging up their blasters with her arrows as the firearms exploded in their faces. Some Egg Pawns got closer and pulled some blades, but Amy blocked with her bow before kicking the swords out of their hands, loaded them in her bow and fired them as arrows at their owners, piercing them.

Lily pulled out various feather darts, tossing them at the robotic minions, and destroyed them. A group of Asterons approached her, and she rushed forward with her board, using it as a ram and knocking over the Asterons.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles travelled closer to the core of the Death Egg, along the way they scrapped robotic minions and disabled Badniks. And then they finally reached the inner sanctum. There the huge Master Emerald stood, as a power core for the Death Egg. Eggman was there too, clad in some sort of battle armor. "Greetings, hedgehog, guardian and…the sidekick?" Eggman said.

"Tails is no sidekick, he's my little bro and my ally. But enough of that, we're here to get the emerald back and put you and your evil schemes down once and for all. Tonight, it ends forever!" Sonic berated Eggman.

"You're right, it ends tonight…for you! This Eggsoskeleton is connected to the Master Emerald, meaning I can draw power from it, but at the same time it's powering my Death Egg. Right now, it's charging up to launch my Matrix Generator, which will reshape Mobius in my image: full of factories, polluted skies, no nature, and a population of robotic slaves that obey my every whim. Oh it will be so beautiful!" Eggman said.

"First, that's a stupid name for a battle armor. Second, we'll never let you win. For too long you have been inhabiting Namgge and using his image as your own, for too long you've killed, conquered, destroyed and polluted. We'll stop you Eggman." Sonic said.

"Please, if I got a penny for every time I get to hear that, I'd be richer!" Eggman said.

"I think it's useless to talk to Eggman since it enters one ear but passes right through, through the other ear, hitting nothing in between. " Tails said.

"Yeah, I don't like being duped, and I don't like seeing the likes of him destroying the beauty of my island." Knuckles added.

"Then what are we standing around here for? Let's take him down!" Sonic said as he Tails and Eggman prepare for their final battle.

TO BE CONTINUED


	30. Death Egg Mark 2 Part II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY: DEATH EGG MARK II, PART II

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, the trio that had faced Eggman the last time in Super form, now faced Eggman once more, but the bad guy wore his Eggsoskeleton battle armor this time, not a mech. So he could fight our heroes up close. And despite not looking like it, Eggman was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He had gone toe to toe with Slicer during the Badnik Sonic incident and tossed Knuckles around in Sandopolis. So with the armor adding to that…our heroes were not going to have an easy time.

Sonic peeled out and headed towards Eggman, but he just punched Sonic in the gut, halting him before he kicked Sonic away sending him flying. Tails moved in with is namesakes, but Eggman grabs them and tosses Tails aside. Knuckles jumped in and tried punching Eggman, who caught his fist and slams Knuckles into the ground. Sonic moved in again and homing-attacked the back of his head, sending him staggering, as Tails and Knuckles strike him with his namesakes, but they only succeed in pushing him back slightly.

Eggman ran at the heroes and attempted to punch him, but they scattered and avoided him. Sonic approached him, but gets caught by the throat. Knuckles moved in as well, but only succeeded in getting his fist caught again. Tails flew in, but Eggman tosses Sonic at him. Luckily Tails caught Sonic by the wrists and carried him in the air, as he tossed Sonic like a cannonball, sending Eggman flying. Knuckles moved in and kept punching Eggman, making an imprint in the wall as Eggman was pushed deeper into it.

Eggman roared in anger as his Eggsoskeleton was engulfed in Chaos Energy (as the Master Emerald glowed as well) as he pushed Knuckles back with a wave of energy, before sending two energy blasts from his hands, knocking Tails and Sonic out of the sky. The three recomposed himself and used a simultaneous spin jump attack, but Eggman erect a force field and the heroes bounce of it as they're shocked.

"He's starting to tap in the Emerald's power, we can't beat him like this." Knuckles noted. "Then we just have to even the odds!" Sonic said as he pulled out the Chaos Emeralds. The trio became engulfed in a bright light once more as they transformed into Super Sonic, Turbo Tails and Chaos Knuckles, ready to face Eggman for the next phase.

Meanwhile the rest of the heroes also had their hands full with their opponents. Nicole was fighting the giant Eggman head shaped program (just realized how strange that sounds) with her huge data buster sword. The giant streams of data it fired from its mouth and eyes started to get harder and harder to dodge. But Nicole managed to get a hit and sliced of piece of the mustache of the Egghead Program. But in a burst of pixels it regenerated itself. "You have to be kidding me!" Nicole said as she barely avoided the next burst of data.

She moved in and sliced away at the program, breaking the glasses with her buster sword, but they regenerated in a burst of pixels as well. Each time Nicole sliced and blasted at the huge head, but each time it fixed itself in a burst of pixels. How would Nicole be able to destroy something that can repair its programming anytime. The frustration at the losing battle made her attention slip as she was hit dead-on by the programs data burst and knocked back, as her armor looked damaged. She held her virtual arm in pain as she wondered: "How am I going to win this?"

Sally jumped up and tried stabbing her spear into Shellcracker, but he backhands her and sent her flying. Slicer launches his blades as spinning projectiles, but he lashes with his claws and the projectiles bounced off, embedding themselves in some nearby walls. Slicer wants to recollect his blades, but Shellcracker fired a stream of flames from his big claw, and Slicer jumps back to avoid. Sally had grabbed an extinguisher and blew the foam in the claw, stopping the flames. Slicer recollected his first blade and made his way for the second.

But Shellcracker launched lightning bursts form his long thin claw and fired at Sally, who did back flips to avoid. Shellcracker punched the ground, shaking the earth around him slightly so Slicer and Sally were knocked off-balance. He then lashed with his big claws, punching Sally and sending her flying. She barely managed to get up after that, but Shellcracker prepared to lash with his thin claw, but Sally slides underneath him, grabs Slicer's blade and passed it back to the owner. The both of them then prepared to continue the fight.

Fiona in Tori as a battle armor (let's call this Armored Fiona) moved towards Dragonfly, who latched with his two double blades, as Armored Fiona blocked with the wing shield and her own double blades. The swords and shields clashed, but as they clashed, Armored Fiona detected an opening and whacked Dragonfly with her shield. Dragonfly then breathed fire on her, forcing Armored Fiona to block with her shield. Then Dragonfly flew up and gave a powerful spinning kick that pushed back Armored Fiona.

Armored Fiona aimed her arm at him and fired several missiles, while Dragonfly slashed them all apart with his blades before he launched several of his own from his chest, which Armored Fiona protected herself form with her shield. Dragonfly grounded himself as the two rushed themselves at each other again and they clashed their blades again.

Dulcy fired a gust of wind from her hand, Coconuts being blown away by it, but he flipped upside down in the air as he grabbed the ceiling with his feet, then launched his cymbals. Dulcy jumped aside to dodge the cymbals, breaking her concentration as Coconuts caught his returning cymbals and jumped towards her, only for Rotor to jump in his way and toss several bombs at him. But with his sharp cymbal weapons, Coconuts swatted the bombs back, as Rotor and Dulcy dodged the bombs.

The shrapnel of the bombs homed in on Coconuts, but he span his cymbals at high speed and the pieces bounced off and fell back on the floor harmlessly. Coconuts laughed in an annoying monkey hooting sound as Dulcy and Rotor growled.

Muttski and Bean met each other on the battlefield. Muttski was still wearing that Japanese superhero outfit he had last chapter. "Cool costume, you have one for me too?" Bean asked excited. "Muttski has!" Muttski said as he created a smokescreen and when it cleared, Bean was also wearing a spandex and helmet (but his were green) and a red scarf. "Bean Hero Rider!" Bean introduced himself. They saw a group of baddies going their way.

"Rider combo!" both of them shouted as they launched both a superpowered kick at the bad guy bots. Bean then pulled out a bomb and said: "Here, catch!" to Muttski. Muttski jumped up, and delivered and upside-down kick to the bomb: "Muttski Bean Shooting star!" Muttski shouted as he kicked the bomb into the foes, blowing them into Kingdom Come.

Antoine used his swords to slash at more foes. Several Egg saucers came in and fired at him, and shot his sword out of his hands. Antoine then dodged all the laser fire he could as he tried getting back at his sword without success. But then Bunnie moved in again and shot the saucers out of the air with her arm cannons. She then passed Antoine his sword again. "Merci, ma chèrie!" Antonie said. "You're welcome, sugah-twan!" she replied. They both charged at the robots again, continuing to wreck them.

Nic has been shooting more and more Egg Pawns, but some of them got closer, too close to shoot, so instead Nic whacked them with the handles of her gun, as she dodged under another Pawn's swipes and sweep kicks it to the ground. Another one tried getting the drop on her, only to meet Amy's arrow. "Nice aim, princess!" Nic complimented.

"You too!" Amy noted. Lily then came in and used some feather darts to destroy more robots. "Same goes for your friend as well." Nic noted. The three girls then reloaded and unleashed more projectiles on the bad guys.

Super Sonic rushed at Eggman, charging into him, who shielded himself with his arms, but got pushed back before he tossed Super Sonic aside. Turbo Tails moved in and swipes with his super-powered namesakes, who knocked him back. Turbo Tails moved in again, but Eggman tossed himself onto Tails, body-slamming him, but Turbo Tails kicks him off. Eggman is then approached by Chaos Knuckles, who delivers a few powerful punches to him, but Eggman managed to get some punches back.

The three simultaneously charged at Eggman, who erected another forcefield, and the forcefield didn't hold the three, but at the same time it popped, the heroes were pushed back as well. "It seems that the power of my Emerald-powered suit equals yours. But the energy inside the Master Emerald is infinite and so is mine!" Eggman said as his suit glowed again and our heroes were surprised to see Eggman and his Eggsoskeleton grow to mecha-size! The three heroes had a 'oh crud' look on their faces but they shook it off as they resumed the fight.

Eggman saw Super Sonic charge towards him, but squashes him in between his hands, and Sonic fell to the ground dazed. Turbo Tails moves in next as he zooms around Eggman's head and pelts him with energy bolts, but Eggman didn't seem to be fazed much as he swats Tails out of the air like a fly. Chaos Knuckles then comes in and punches away at Eggman's face and it seemed to faze the now giant doctor slightly, but he recovers quickly and punched Chaos Knuckles into the ground with his huge fists. "Ha! Even the power of the Chaos Emeralds cannot match that of the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald can stop the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Why do you think the prayer calls it the controller?" Eggman gloated.

"He's right, the Master Emerald has more power. We could use the Chaos Rings but then he'll draw more of the infinite power of the Master Emerald." Tails noted.

"The controller…wait, the prayer! The servers are seven chaos…chaos is power enriched by the heart…the controller exists to unify the chaos. We can tap into the Master Emerald's power as well." Knuckles stated.

"How?" Sonic asked. "The prayer says it all. The Chaos Emeralds are the servers, they are connected to the Master Emerald, the Master Emerald truly unites their power. Our hearts enrich the power of chaos." Knuckles stated.

"So the prayer wasn't just a password, but it shows the means to control the Chaos properly. Okay then, let's enrich our hearts." Sonic stated.

The three heroes took a praying stand as they started chanting: "The servers are the seven chaos…" Knuckles began. "Chaos is power, enriched by the heart…" Sonic continued. "The controller exists to unify the chaos…" Tails said. "Master Emerald, give us the power to fight this evil!" the three finished all at the same time. The Master Emerald behind them in the core of the Death Egg glowed with power as it shattered the protective walls around them and the energy flowed in our heroes.

"What?" Eggman asked surprised as he saw how the heroes were empowered. The Chaos Emeralds briefly appeared around them, before the emerald grew to three five times their own size, becoming Super Emeralds before they were re-absorbed by our heroes. They all changed retained their new hairstyles (like Super Sonic) and ornaments (Turbo Tails and his cape) but now they glowed a bright white, sparkling as they had something of a divine aura around them. Hyper Sonic, Hyper Tails and Hyper Knuckles now stared at Eggman. "No! the Master Emerald's power is mine!" Eggman tried to tap in more of the power of the Master Emerald, but failed.

"Sorry Eggman, we cut you off from its power, our will is stronger than yours. You know why?" Hyper Sonic said. "Because we have a reason to fight for. Our power of chaos is enriched by the heart, like the prayer said." Hyper Tails added. "With that said, it means in short you're screwed!" Hyper Knuckles finished. "We won't lose!" the trio of Hypers said as they rushed at Eggman again.

Nicole had been knocked to the ground again by the Egghead Program, which now started to laugh annoyingly in Eggman's voice. "How can a program heal itself like that so fast? Is it even a program? Wait a sec…" Nicole concentrated and scanned the area mentally. "The program in front of me is a fake…the real program is tiring me out. The real one is…" Nicole said as she looked around and saw it in the distance. "There!" she rushed at the Egghead Program and busted right through it, leaving a hole. The hole healed as Nicole kept going and went for the real thing.

The Egghead Program kept firing as Nicole continued towards the source, but she dodged the attacks as she found the real master program: a small program in the shape of a black egg with a single red eye. Nicole pierced it with her data buster sword, as it shattered into a burst of data, and the Egghead Program soon followed as it faded away. "I still rule…I should spend less time around Sonic." Nicole stated.

Sally and Slicer lashed with both their weapons, knocking Shellcracker back. Shellcracker fired both lightning and fire from his claws and they jumped aside to dodge, as they kicked off the walls and kicked him simultaneously. Shellcracker was knocked back as he had trouble maintaining his footing. Sally moved in closer to stab him with her spear, but Shellcracker launched his claw on a chain, right at Sally. "Look out!" Slicer said as he pushed Sally aside and took the blow, and he was knocked in the opposite wall. Slicer looked badly damaged.

"Slicer!" Sally said. Slicer looked weak, but he managed to lift his head and fire one of his blades, which embedded in Shellcracker's chest, who roared in pain as the blade was stuck, and retracted his claw, and a badly damaged Slicer fell to the ground. Sally moved in and kicked right where the blade was stuck, burying it in deeper. Shellcracker roared as he swatted Sally aside. Shellcracker pulled the blade out and wanted to slay Sally with it…

Slicer got up, but barely as the last attack from Shellcracker had him badly damaged. He rushed at Shellcracker, planted his remaining blade in his chest as he pushed Shellcracker away from Sally as Shellcracker dropped Slicer's second blade. "You won't hurt her! You shall hurt no one any longer!" Slicer said as he pushed himself and Shellcracker of the Death Egg, through the hole Tori had made as she crashed in, both robots falling to their demise in the abyss below.

"SLICER!" Sally screamed as she saw the vanish. She shed a few tears as she whispered: "Thank you…" she recomposed herself, but looked really pissed. She picked up her bo staff and Slicer's remaining blade as she decided to take out her frustration on the remaining Egg Pawns.

Armored Fiona and Dragonfly kept clashing and clashing with their blades. Dragonfly became disarmed by Armored Fiona as he lost one of his double blades. But then he disarmed Fiona of her shield, now both only clashed with a single double blade. The blades clashed and clashed all over again, and they tried pushing one another back. As their blades pushed, they both simultaneously punches each other in the gut knocking one another back.

They raised their blades, charged at one another, and slashed each other once with their blade and landed back on the place they opponent stood first (standard samurai duel). Both of them stood there first until Buzzbomber grabbed his chest in pain as he said: "I guess it wasn't the Freedom Fighters', but Dragonfly's last day!" as he staggered back, dropped his blades and fell down in the same hole Tori made earlier and Slicer and Shellcracker fell through, like them falling to his demise.

Coconuts agilely dodged all of the attacks Rotor and Dulcy threw at him, hopping around madly to dodge. Dulcy got annoyed when her fire attacks wouldn't work, but then she got an idea: she forced Coconuts to jump up and dodge a fireball, but then covered the ground Coconuts was about to land on in ice, making him slip and fall on contact. Rotor then moved in with his dynamite knuckle, punching Coconuts, who protected himself with his cymbals. But the charges planted on it with the Dynamite Knuckles blew his cymbals to bits. Dulcy then flipped him in the air with a gust of wind.

"I've been waiting to use this one!" Rotor said as he pulled out a missile launcher, and it only had one shot, but Rotor made it count as the missile headed for Coconuts, planted itself in Coconuts' stomach as it dragged Coconuts all the way down the corridor as it exploded and finally put an end to the annoying monkey robot forever.

Hyper Sonic hyper spin-dashed into the giant Eggman, knocking him into the wall while tearing a chunk from his armor. Hyper Tails then moved in and swatted with his namesakes, cracking more armor before Hyper Knuckles punched hard, and another piece of the armor cracked. "Now together guys!" Sonic said as he Hyper spin dashed, Hyper Tails performed a hyper tail spin and Hyper Knuckles performed a hyper windmill attack. The three attacks completely tore the armor to pieces as a depowered Eggman shrank back to normal size.

"No, no, no, no, no, NO! I am the Eggman, I had the master plan! I couldn't be defeated. I got to destroy…" Eggman said, on the brink of insanity.

"Tough luck Egghead. Told you we'd win. Now Tails, time to use the Chaos Rings and free Namgge from the Eggman persona. The demon of chaos energy that has been using his body now ceases to exist!" Hyper Sonic said. Hyper Tails handed him two of the Chaos Rings as Sonic zaps Eggman with it, only to be surprised it had no effect. "What?" Sonic asked.

"Namgge no longer exists, I purged him from my systems long ago, even before you brats destroyed my Scrap Brain. He is no more, I now inhabit this body permanently." Eggman said maliciously.

"Then we no longer have to pull our punches." Sonic stated as an alarm sounded and the whole Death Egg was about to blow…again. "Guys, take the Super emeralds and the Master Emerald. Teleport everyone to safety." Sonic said as he depowered and handed the Super Emeralds to Tails and Knuckles.

"What about you?" Tails asked. "No worries, little bro! Just making sure that Eggman doesn't pull any more escape tricks. Now do it!" Sonic stated. Tails and Knuckles used the emeralds and the Master Emerald to perform Chaos Control, which washed over the entire Death Egg, teleporting all the heroes, Nack and the Badniks to safety.

"You idiot, you doomed yourself. As for I…" Eggman said as he pulled out another teleportation device, but this time Sonic was ready for him as he kicked it out of his hand.

"No, not this time. This time it ends!" Sonic said as he spin-dashes into Eggman, knocking him into a wall.

"I'll drag you down with me!" Eggman said as he tried body-slamming Sonic, who dodged and kicked Eggman in the head, but he retaliated by punching Sonic's face, who then again in return bit Eggman's hand. Eggman roared in pain as he angrily kneed Sonic in the gut, who in return punched the mad doctor in the face, kicked him in the gut and finally head-butted him, forcing the mad doctor on his knees due to the punishment he took.

"Self destruct in ten…nine…"

"You fool, you doomed yourself!" Eggman stated. "Not at all!" Sonic said as he pulled a Warp Ring from his quills and activated it. He waved at Eggman as he jumped through it backwards: "Bye Egghead!" he said, leaving Eggman alone on the Death Egg.

"…six…five…"

"I hate that hedgehog…" Eggman groaned.

"…four…three…"

"I hate him! Hate, hate…"

"Two…one…"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!"

"Zero! Have a nice day!" with that, the second Death Egg went up in a huge explosion the spectacle could be seen from Angel Island, where our heroes were now, looking at the sight. "That was the coolest and biggest explosion ever!" Bean said excited.

Sonic jumped through the warp ring, back onto the surface with his friends, who all had stared in awe at the explosion. "Whoa…you think that's the end of Eggman?" Knuckles wondered.

"It is, I made sure he stayed in it this time." Sonic said to his friends. When the realization sank in, our heroes cheered, glad they finally wan after all this time. "I can't believe it, I can't believe it's finally over." Tails said.

"Me neither, after living in world of darkness for so long, finally a light is in sight." Fiona added. "Too bad I couldn't save Namgge. He's gone, the Eggman had completely integrated itself in his body and erased him. The former friend my uncle had in him is gone." Sonic said sadly.

"We had no other choice. But Namgge is not the only one who died out there. A brave robot has sacrificed himself to save me." Sally added. Sonic looked around and indeed saw Slicer wasn't there.

But then everyone was surprised when something green in the distance slowly walked towards them. To their surprise, it was Slicer, he was alive. Heavily damaged, but still able to walk and alive for sure. "You think you can get rid of me that easily?" he said. Sally was overjoyed as she ran towards him and hugged him.

"I'm just glad you're all right, old friend." She said.

"I can use a tune-up right now. But first we need a celebration, as the tyranny of Eggman has ended." Slicer stated.

Sonic turned to Sally, and grabbed her hand: "Now that the world is free, we can finally be together, princess of my heart." He stated. "Of all the corny lines you…oh kiss me you fool!" she said as she and Sonic passionately kissed.

"Why should they get all the fun?" Fiona asked Tails as she pulled her man into a big kiss herself. Antoine and Bunnie just shrugged her shoulders as they kissed each other as well.

"Rotor…" Dulcy said to the walrus. "Yes?" he asked. "I…you see…oh screw it!" she said as she stood on the tips of her feet, wrapped her arms around Rotor's neck and kissed him on the lips, and after recovering from the surprise, Rotor returned the kiss.

"I don't know whether to cry in joy, or to throw up from all the mushiness!" Tori stated.

Much later, the heroes had gathered outside the echidna temple. Slicer had been repaired and equipped with some new blades. "I love these, they're light, sleek…thank you young fox." Slicer complimented Tails for his craftsmanship.

"You're welcome. Oh and I followed your other request!" Tails pulls out the remaining one of Slicer's old blades, only it was equipped with a handle. "Sally, Slicer wanted you to have this, it can be used as a sword, but can also connect to your bo staff as a scythe." Tails stated.

Sally took it an turned to her friend: "Thanks for saving me." "I owe you my life, for saving me from Eggman. My life belonged to you, and I just gave it back." Slicer stated. "You're not staying with us?" Sally asked. "No, you don't need me anymore. You Freedom Fighters can handle yourself. Besides, Nic's team offered me a spot on their team, and I accepted it." Slicer replied.

"From now on, we're called Team Maverick, as we are all odd cases." Nic stated.

"I guess we all have to part ways now. Me and the Freedom Fighters have a big mess to clean up, a big mess Eggman left." Fiona said to Nic.

"I know, but we'll keep in touch okay? We're sisters after all!" Nic said.

"I have to stay on the island. It's my home, it's my duty to protect. I must keep the Master Emerald here, out of range of any civilization, so it can't fall in the wrong hands ever again." Knuckles stated. The Super Emeralds shrank back to Chaos Emeralds and warped themselves away to the Special Zone again once they destroyed the Death Egg, and now the Master Emerald kept Angel Island afloat.

"And we keep the Chaos Rings, we don't know all their powers yet, but they'll come in handy." Tails said as he put the Chaos Rings in a basket.

"Not to mention the Time Stone." Sally said.

"But even if Eggman's gone, we still need to defeat some of his sub-bosses, disable the central battery that keeps the Badnik suits active and clean up a huge mess. But I'm glad to call you all friends and allies." Sonic said to Team Maverick and Knuckles.

"And that's why we give you the title of honorary Freedom Fighters. You can still be you, but you're our allies and you can count on us whenever you're in trouble." Sally said.

"You sure we don't need to help you with your search?" Sonic asked Knuckles.

"No, this is my task, and you already have much to do. With the manuscripts I recovered from Eggman and the Master Emerald I can finally unravel my past and the history of my people. I need to do this on my own." Knuckles said.

"I understand. Still glad to have met you Knucklehead!"

"Same here, spikey!"

"There is a bright future ahead for all of us, but there is a lot to be done. So it's no time to slack off or slow down. But we can make it happen, because we're freedom fighters, and we fight because we know we can win!" Sonic said as they all put their hands together, then shouted: "Freedom Fighters forever!"

But somewhere, a single piece of the death Egg's remains on the surface of Mobius…a cloud of black smoke rose from the remains…it sported two red eyes as a high-pitched scary laugh could be heard and the black smoke flies away, his laugh echoing through the air.

END OF CHAPTER

TO BE CONTINUED?

EXTRA!

Nack woke up with a headache. "Ow, my head! Where am I? Oh, the Death Egg! I'm alive, yay I'm alive!" he said cheerfully, until he realized he was all alone on the top of an icy cold mountain in the middle of nowhere. "Oh bollocks!"


	31. Knuckles and Chaotix I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: KNUCKLES AND CHAOTIX, PART I

After the Freedom Fighters left, Knuckles' life was back as it used to be: lonely. But he didn't want the Freedom Fighters to worry when they already have so much on their minds. But he managed for more than a year, and he still does. His day started with washing himself in the lake, where he also caught his breakfast, some fish he caught with a spear, alongside some fruit he picked in the forest. The island provided him with everything he needed. He then continued to study the newfound Master Emerald for a while before hiding it behind some protective walls and spells and set off to explore the island.

Knuckles had confiscated some manuscripts Eggman had found, either by teleporting them outside of the Death Egg before it exploded or finding it in some remains of Eggman's temporary bases he kept founding around the island. He dismantled some remaining robots along the way and shut the bases down completely.

From the manuscripts Knuckles could already learn a few things: that the echidnas waged war amongst each other, and the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds might be at the source, that they worshipped the Ancient Walker of Water as their tribal god, some instructions to crafting new weapons, clothing ect. And some blueprints to echidna tech. Knuckles didn't need much technology, and the only thing he ever used was the top at Marble Garden which acted as a guide of sorts. But it learnt him more about his race, so he kept them.

But the manuscripts were really old and while they told more than the inscriptions in the temples, which were all nearly ruined, they were incomplete. There were some gaps he hadn't filled out yet. That's why he kept looking, for a secret on the island waiting to be uncovered and fill in the gaps.

But even if the info he found was useful, it only told him about his race, the echidnas as a whole, but he was no step closer to finding out who he used to be as a person. He knew echidna's celebrated a holiday near the beginning of the rain season devoted to their tribal water god, but he didn't know if he had a family. He knew echidna weddings were arranged, but he didn't know if he was a warrior or a craftsman.

But he still sought answers, anything at all. As his lift without memories, without knowledge of one's self, without a name, was a tortured existence. Anything that helped him putting the pieces of the puzzle into place was welcome.

Knuckles sighed as he looked over the side of a cliff to a view of the island. Not even the view could cheer him up. Nothing could make up for a lack of identity. If only there was something that could take his mind of things…be careful what you wish for, young echidna.

Knuckles was surprised when he saw something fall out of the air and land in the middle of the Mushroom Hills. It wasn't a Death Egg piece this time, cause if it was, it would have fallen to the island eons ago. It might be another intruder, or another lost soul. But Knuckles didn't take any risks and decided to explore. If it's an enemy it needed to be defeated, if it was a friend, it needed help.

When Knuckles approached the large ship that had crashed, he saw it could easily be large enough to be its own zone. He was curious and approached it. Was he even more surprised to see when the top part of the ship opened up and reconfigured itself, and of all things it could turn into, it turned into what could be best described as an amusement park. The big neon sign at the entrance read: 'Carnival Night'.

"Welcome, welcome! Everyone come to Carnival Night, the flying and travelling amusement park. Once you enter, there will be so much fun you never want to leave again! Today the first one enters gets free access to all rides!" a voice said over the speakers.

"Well…that's something you don't see every day." Knuckles stated. Not knowing what else to do, he enters the park, deciding to at least give it an investigation. Knuckles didn't exactly know what an amusement park was, but the name pretty much explains it, though it was vague.

"Don't forget to view our Botanic Base and Marine Madness aquarium if you love to see flora and fauna from all around the world. Take a ride in the Speed Slider, biggest and fastest rollercoaster in the world, try finding your way out the maze that is the Amazing Arena, eat at our Techno Tower Restaurant all the way on the top of the large tower and much, much more!" the voice stated over the speakers.

The park was empty, but that was logical since Knuckles was the only known inhabitant of the island, not counting the wildlife. But he was at least curious. He stood in front of what appeared to be the Speed Slider. "So, this is a rollercoaster?" he asked to himself.

"It sure is!" a Mobian rat has popped out of nowhere and startled Knuckles. "Renfield T. Rodent, I'll be your guide for today. You wanted to try out the Speed Slider?"

"Er…I was just looking at it…" Knuckles mumbled.

"Oh, don't be shy, you want an adrenaline rush! You want to feel the wind on your dreads, take a ride, it's free." Renfield said as he pushed a surprised Knuckles inside the rollercoaster, which then set off.

"Wait, I didn't want to do thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiis!" Knuckles screamed as he rollercoaster went faster, took loops and sharp turns, before it returned back to the start. "That…that was…AWESOME! I want to do that again!" Knuckles said.

"To you all the rides are free, do as you see fit!" Renfield assured Knuckles. Knuckles had spent ten more rides on the Speed Slider before he got out dizzy.

The rest of the day, Knuckles had spent enjoying himself on all the rides, visiting every stand, and ate at every joint. He felt so free and careless for the first time since he can remember. Finally something that made him get his mind of things and made him forget that…well, he had forgotten.

"Oh, this is so good!" Knuckles said as he was scarfing down his fifth cheeseburger. He never ate anything like it and while Muttski had been a good cook for as long as he was on Angel Island, Muttski had not made any junk food.

"Glad you enjoy them, they're an old recipe of my grandmother, and boy did she know how to make some burgers!" Renfield said delighted.

"Are you the only one running the park?" Knuckles asked, finally letting it sink in.

"Oh, there are few who come to the travelling circus anymore, with the war against the Eggman Empire going on. We had to seriously cut our budget. We are glad if we have a customer at all when we arrive at a place." Renfield said.

"Oh, I'm sorry about your business. I really enjoy this place, and more people should. You know that dictator Eggman is gone? I saw him go down in an explosion of his own flying fortress. It means that soon enough your amusement park can flourish again." Knuckles said.

"Really? Well…that's good to hear, I mean the dictator of the world gone. It's so good to hear that." Renfield said.

"I thank you for your hospitality, but I think I should go, I have a lot of responsibilities to attend to. But you can fly this wonderful place somewhere else, spread the word of Eggman's demise and see the park become the sensation it used to be." Knuckles said as he stood up and wanted to leave the restaurant.

"Oh…can't you stay an itty bitty longer?" Renfield asked.

"I thank you, but I can't spend the rest of my life play while I have work to do, despite how tempting it sounds." Knuckles stated.

"Maybe one more ride in the Speed Slider? Or another Cheeseburger? Maybe want to see that kappa at the aquarium again?" Renfield said, sounding persistent.

"Thank you but no, I had enough excitement for a lifetime. I really need to go now." Knuckles said, becoming a bit worried at Renfield's persistence. He had nearly reached the exit of Carnival Night, but found the exit blocked when pointy steel bars shot out of the ground. "Hey, what's the meaning of this?"

Knuckles turned around at Renfield, who now had an evil scowl on his face. "I'm sorry, but no one leaves the Carnival Night." Knuckles got angry and wanted to punch the rodent, but suddenly felt a sudden feeling of sleepiness overcome him. "And I see the sleeping draught I put in the cheeseburger sauce is finally kicking in." Renfield added as Knuckles fainted.

When Knuckles woke up, he had a major headache and he no longer found himself to be in a bright and colorful place, but a dark, cold and crammed prison cell. He looked at himself and saw he now was wearing an orange prison uniform instead of his tribal clothes, as well as wearing some sort of collar around his neck. "That lying bastard…I'll get him!" he said as he wanted to tear the door of his cell of its hinges, but couldn't. He felt weaker then he used to be.

"Don't bother, the collar limits your abilities." A voice said to Knuckles. There was a small window in his cell, that allowed him to see the cell next to him. A green crocodile with red spines was looking at him through the small window. "I know, I normally would have tore that door out as well if I had all my strength, but the collar suppresses my abilities." He added.

"Okay, you scum, lunchtime!" another voice said, this one robotic. It was an Egg Pawn, one of many who were patrolling the prison complex Knuckles was in now. The opened his cell door and several Egg Pawns aimed their guns at him. Knuckles had to come along, in his weakened state he couldn't handle them. He moved outside and saw how from other cell blocks, other prisoners were carried off, among them his neighbor the crocodile, a bee, a chameleon, an armadillo, a flying squirrel and two robots, one that was a bomb with limbs and a big robot that looked a lot like a teapot.

Leading the Egg Pawns was a spherical robot that looked like a heavily upgraded Egg Pawn, but it's coloring reminded Knuckles of Eggman's jacket. "I'm EggRobo, your warden. I'm making sure you scum learn your place, and that is under Eggman. Everything is below Eggman and should obey. And to please our one true ruler, you need to work, work hard! But first some sustenance for you scum before you get to work. Master Eggman needs his subjects alive to work!" the robot said as it led Knuckles and the other prisoners to the cafeteria.

The food was a huge downgrade from those tasty burgers he had eaten yesterday (he had been out for a long time). What he was eating, he didn't know, it appeared to be a stew of soup, but it might as well have been mud mixed with crap. But he needed to eat and reluctantly eat it.

"After a while you don't taste it anymore." The crocodile, who was sitting next to him, said. "Really?" Knuckles asked. "No! You never get used to the taste, this stuff is horrible. By the way, the name's Vector." The croc replied.

"Knuckles!" the echidna introduced himself. He wanted to take another bite from the stew, but stopped and asked another question to the crocodile: "Where are we?"

"Still in Carnival Night, but the part you didn't get to see, directly under the bright and colorful world above is a prison. Eggman built this to lure unsuspecting travelers in, only to become his prisoners. A robot created in his image is the warden, while that rat above serves Eggman to save his own hide." Vector explained.

"You fell for it too?" Knuckles asked.

"We all did. I lost my home town to Eggman. I wandered the world trying to cope until I came to this place and got lured in." Vector replied. He then started to turned to the others, who were sitting around the table: "Okay guys, why don't you introduce yourselves to the new guy?"

"I'm Charmy Bee, former worker bee at the Golden Hive colony."

"Espio, former member of the Shinobi Clan in Chun-Nan."

"Mighty Armadillo. Farmboy from Mercia."

"I-I-I'm Ray. My family used to work at a circus, as acrobats."

"I'm Heavy, Eggman robot who has turned on my master, and this is my brother Bomb. (Bomb started to make pinging sounds) Bomb says it's nice meeting you."

"All of them tried running from Eggman in one way or another, or in Espio's case, the war in his home country. But we all wanted to experience something joyful for once in our tragic lives, and we all fell for the amusement park trick. Except Heavy and Bomb, they were worker robots here before their betrayal." Vector said.

"This place has been flying everywhere, gathering prisoners to do some dirty work for Eggman. Once the place gets full, we all get turned into Badniks before we start all over again." Espio stated.

"Either way, we'll end up mindless slaves of Eggman." Charmy added sadly.

"But Eggman is gone! I saw the Freedom Fighters destroy him." Knuckles stated.

"I wish I could believe that…but even if it is, these robots all continue to carry out his wishes. Eggman wouldn't grant anyone freedom in his death." Heavy replied. Bomb pinged some more. "You said it, Bomb!" Heavy replied to his brother.

"I-I-I don't want to be a Badnik! I don't want to." Ray said.

"I promise I won't let them turn you into a Badnik, collar or not." Mighty assured the young little squirrel.

"Mighty has been treating Ray like a brother, ever since his own little sister was taken from him." Vector whispered to Knuckles.

"At least you remember your families, I have amnesia, I barely know who I am." Knuckles remarked.

"It's better to have amnesia right now. The less you remember, the less you know what you've lost." Espio stated.

"So, what they'll do with us now?" Knuckles asked.

"Probably gather some scrapped remains of Badniks that have to be recycled or re-used for the future, or collect supplies. This island is full of it." Vector answered.

"Silence over there, if you would be paid, it's not to talk like you're on a tea-party all day! Now finish your slop, we'll be doing some collecting today." The voice of EggRobo sounded. The prisoners all silently ate for the rest of lunch, but they would get talking again to one another if they got the chance.

Later that day, the prisoners were transported with several vehicles, while Egg Pawns overlooked them as they started gathering scrap and parts from the Eggman bases Knuckles had dismantled earlier. Each of them had to gather a pile of a minimal standard to satisfy EggRobo. For Knuckles it wasn't that tough, as even with the limiter around his neck he still was strong enough to handle it. But others like Charmy and Ray were small and physically not that strong and were barely able to lift anything. "You call that a pile?" EggRobo barked at the two.

"I-I-I'm sorry, but I'm not as strong as Mighty or Vector." Ray said, crying in fear.

"Yeah, we're trying our best, but we got limits!" Charmy added.

"Limits, my ass. You work or you'll pay the price for your laziness!" EggRobo growled.

Knuckles knew they two needed help. He grabbed some scrap from his pile and added it to the two of the younger ones. "What do you think you're doing?" EggRobo asked.

"You said, everyone must have a pile, you didn't say we had to do our own pile by ourselves!" Knuckles stated.

"Smart…real smart. Because you're new, I'll give you only a warning for now." EggRobo said to Knuckles, as he pushed a button on his chest, shocking Knuckles through his collar as he collapsed. "Next time you defy me, you'll receive a much bigger and more painful punishment." EggRobo assured him. He then turned to the rest as he said: "What are you staring at? Keep working!"

Later that night, the prisoners were brought back to their cells. As the lights went out, Knuckles couldn't sleep inside his cell. He turned to Vector: "Hey Vector!" Knuckles asked whispering.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm planning a breakout!" Knuckles said.

"You can't escape! Our powers are limited, we can't get out." Vector stated.

"No, we can escape. Our powers are limited, but we got a good head on our shoulders. And I've learnt about stealth from some old friends of mine. Listen, I got a smart plan, but I need your help, I can't do it alone. Only if everyone helps me we can pull it off." Knuckles stated.

"I dunno, it sounds risky." Vector stated.

"You want to take the chance or be stuck here for the rest of your life?" Knuckles said.

"Point taken…what you have in mind?" Vector asked.

"I need everyone's skills for this one…" Knuckles stated.

TO BE CONTINUED


	32. Knuckles and Chaotix II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: KNUCKLES AND CHAOTIX, PART II (JAILBREAK)

Knuckles was forced to wake abruptly when the Egg Pawns, serving as the guards in the prison compartment of the flying amusement park Carnival Night. He didn't give them any hard time (for now) and followed them to the cafeteria for breakfast, where they served oatmeal that looked like it has been digested before, and it tasted that way too.

During breakfast Knuckles was tapping his spoon on the side of his table the entire time, sometimes short taps but sometimes a longer tap…the other prisoners listened carefully to each of the taps, noting a pattern…It was Morse code! Knuckles sent them instructions! The Egg Pawns didn't pay attention to it, as long as the prisoners didn't talk, they didn't react. Their AI was really limited.

During their scavenging for the day, they were once again gathering some Eggman tech that was destroyed or dismantled during the Freedom Fighters' stay on the island. During this, Charmy and Ray distracted the Egg Pawns, but making a loud discussion:

"I was going to pick up that part! It's mine!" Charmy belted.

"No, it's mine! I saw it first!" Ray reacted.

"Your pile is bigger than mine already, I need something as big as that." Charmy said.

"No it isn't, it only looks bigger because of those big parts, but they're quite heavy." Ray replied.

"Cut it out, both of you, just get to work and finish your job! Don't care who gets the tech, if you just take it!" EggRobo groaned, as in the distraction Knuckles and the others swiped some small robotic parts. They all passed it to one another during lunch later that day, which was mac and cheese (that tasted like glue).

Later that day, they continued their scavenging and they repeated the progress, distracting the guards while they gathered small things and bits of objects, which they passed each other while they were at dinner.

Finally at nighttime, the lights went out and once again the prisoners were forced to go to sleep. But little did the guards know they heroes didn't go to sleep at all. Each of them had put together a small something to help them pick the locks of their cell doors from the scrap they secretly gathered. Knuckles made a fake snoring noise, which was the sign for the others to start picking their locks.

"Hey guard, I don't feel very good!" Vector said to the guards in a faked sick sounding tone. Since the prisoners had to be kept healthy for their transformation to Badniks, the guards approached Vector. But as they approached the cell door, Vector kicked the door open, slamming it into the guards. Soon afterwards the others had also unlocked their doors and prepared to flee.

"Now, be as fast and quiet as possible!" Knuckles noted. They all nodded as they followed Knuckles and snuck out, staying clear of alarms and guards along the way. They were approaching a big door. "This is our way out, beyond this door lies freedom!" Knuckles noted. They opened the door, but they all looked surprised that beyond the door, a large group of Egg Pawns were waiting, with EggRobo in front, Renfield at his side. "Well, well, well…look who we got here. A couple of nitwits thinking they could escape on our watch." EggRobo said as the Egg Pawns aimed their weapons at them and the heroes raised their hands.

"Luckily for me, these two…" EggRobo said as he pointed at Heavy and Bomb "warned us of your secret little plans. I guess their basic programming to obey Eggman finally has kicked in!"

"You treacherous pieces of metallic…" Knuckles groaned, but EggRobo pushed another button on his chest, shocking all the prisoners but Heavy and Bomb through their limiter collars.

"Enough nonsense! I will no longer wait, I'll convert you all to Badniks right now. Heavy, Bomb, you want to do the pleasure, and proof that your true loyalty lies with the Eggman Empire?" EggRobo asked as he handed the two a couple of Badnik shields.

"We sure are…" Heavy said, Bomb pinging in response. They headed for the heroes, who looked scared at what about to happen. EggRobo rubbed his hands in delight as he saw the two approach their teammates.

But then they suddenly turned around and tossed the shields at EggRobo's head, dazing him, as Heavy pulled out a different device and pushed it into EggRobo's chest, shocking him. The panel in his chest looked black and burned while the inhibitor collars around the heroes neck's fell off.

"You…traitors!" EggRobo moaned.

"You didn't think we'd willingly work for Eggman again? No thanks! We like our free will as it is, and we have no intention spending the rest of our days as slaves and tools of war! We pretended to have one plan, while really we were really had another plan." Heavy explained. Bomb pinged. "Normally I wouldn't approve such language, but Bomb said it exactly!"

"Now we got those things of our necks, we can use all or our abilities. It's clobbering time, guys!" Knuckles said, the other heroes smiling in delight, as the Egg Pawns looked scared. They charged at the robots, the Egg Pawns firing on them but missing them completely.

Knuckles punched away with his namesakes at the Egg Pawns, scrapping them. They fired at him but he jumped up and over them, before launching flying kicks and knocked them away. He then curled up and launched a spin-dash, a trick he learned from Sonic, to knock the rest over.

Vector was fired upon by the Egg Pawns, but using some slick moves and agility he dodged the laser blasts, before moving in and sweeping the guns out of their hands with his tail, before punching at them and scrapping them. He then grabbed one Egg Pawn in his hands and tore his head off with his strong jaws and spitting the chewed off head like projectile from his mouth into some other Egg Pawns.

Espio, being a ninja, attacked with swift but precise and effective punches and kicks that hit the Egg Pawns in their weak spots and made them fall apart with the said strikes. He grabbed some pieces of scrap and launched them at the other Egg Pawns like shuriken, embedding themselves in their heads as they shut down. He made himself invisible, allowing him to strike the Egg Pawns without them seeing him.

Ray, being born in a family of acrobats did some backflips to avoid the laser fire. He opened the door of a janitor's closet to block the incoming laser blasts. He took a broom from the closet and broke it in half, using the halves to perform Eskrima and bash the Egg Pawns with it. He then surprised everyone when he flew up, and literally flew (normally flying squirrels only could glide) and swooped down and took down the Egg Pawns.

Mighty charged at the Egg Pawns and tore them apart with his bare hands, and showed strength that surpassed that of Knuckles and Vector. The Egg Pawns fired at him, but he curled up into a ball and his shell deflected the laser blasts, as he rolled in the Egg Pawns and bowled them over like bowling pins.

Charmy Bee used his free flight abilities to dodge the laser blasts easily. He blew them a raspberry as he flew around wildly, and the Egg pawns started shooting over and over but only ended up blasting each other apart, which was Charmy's intention. Charmy had no combat skills, but he was quick on his feet and quite creative.

Charmy noticed Renfield trying to get away, and had a sly grin on his face. His stinger appeared as he flew forwards, stinger out and shot at the rat, hitting him in the derrière and making him shout in pain and jump up so high he bumped his head on the ceiling and knock himself out.

Heavy didn't have much to fear from the laser fire, as he was big, heavy and pretty much invulnerable. Not really maneuverable, but when and Egg Pawn decided laser blasting wouldn't work and tried to go melee on Heavy, Heavy could punch back with his boxing glove like hands. He could use hidden springs in his legs to jump up high and land on the Egg Pawns, crushing them with his weight.

The Egg Pawns tried fleeing, but Bomb caught up to them, pinging rapidly as he blew himself up and the Egg Pawns. Heavy opened a hatch in his belly, and pulled out a new Bomb. Every time Bomb blew himself up, his consciousness transferred to a new body which Heavy made and stored inside his body. It takes a few minutes for Heavy to make a new body, but he had a few ones on standby at least.

EggRobo saw how his forces were getting defeated and decided to run for it. "He's getting away!" Espio noted.

"After him!" Knuckles ordered as the group of heroes chased after the robot. They followed him through a series of hallways, until they came across a large, seemingly empty room.

"Where did he go?" Charmy wondered, looking around to see nothing.

"I'm here!" EggRobo's voice said as some lights in the distance of the room turned on, showing the room wasn't empty after all. EggRobo stood there in an EggMobile, standing in front of a giant version of Metal Sonic, only it was red. "I was just trying to be a good warden, I was trying to reform you scum that go against Eggman. But you wanted to make it hard for me. Now you'll all pay!" EggRobo said as the Titan Metallix' chest opened up, and EggRobo and his Egg Mobile installed themselves as the chest closed, the giant machine springing to life. "Now I'll crush you like bugs!" EggRobo's voice sounded from inside the Titan Metallix.

"I think I just sprung an oil leak." Heavy moaned, sounding scared.

"Oh, that thing is massive! How do you destroy something like that?" Ray wondered.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall, we can take it!" Knuckles assured them.

"Knuckles is right, it's not about the size of the opponent, but about the skills. We have plenty, while he only has brute force. Knuckles, lead us in battle and I'm sure that with some quick thinking we can overcome this foe." Espio stated.

"Me?" Knuckles asked. "Yeah, you came up with the escape plan, so we want you to be our leader in this fight, with you at the front, we can't lose!" Mighty stated.

"So, what are your orders, boss?" Vector said, giving a thumbs up and winking."

Knuckles smiled. "If you really think so…Ray, Charmy, hit him high! Vector, Mighty, hit him low. Espio, look for a weak point. Heavy, Bomb, draw his attention. I'll look for an opening. Now go!" he ordered them. The heroes moved out and did as told.

Charmy and Ray flew around the head of the Titan Metallix, shooting at it with some blasters they had picked up. It didn't faze the Metallix giant much, but it had distracted him as Espio came in and climbed up on the Titan Metallix, carefully looking for a weak spot. He then stabs a specific spot with his index and middle fingers, causing the armor to crack at the shoulder. Titan Metallix swatted the flying heroes out of the air and Espio of his shoulder, but Heavy using his springs to jump up, while Bomb was on his back. "Let it rip!" Heavy said as Bomb blew itself up, giving Heavy the boost needed to shoot forward and tackle the Metallix using his weight and the speed boost gained from Bomb, pushing the giant back.

Vector curled up into a wheel and did a version of the spin dash, hitting the spot Heavy had hit him earlier, pushing the Metallix back further. Knuckles then punched the Metallix a few times with his fists. Mighty came up next, ripping the giant's arm off at the spot Espio had cracked the armor, before using the arm to swat it's owner with, shattering the arm and cracking open the chest armor.

"Let's all hit him at once!" Knuckles suggested as everyone minus Bomb charged at the Metallix, shattering the armor on its chest and knocking the giant mech on his back, the giant sparking and looking lifeless.

EggRobo crawled out dazed as he said: "I knew I should have tested that prototype out before I took it for a ride." He moaned. Heavy then had just created a new body for Bomb, which immediately jumped on EggRobo and hugged him tightly. He pinged and waved goodbye, EggRobo knowing what was coming: "Oh scrap!" and with that, Bomb exploded and he took down EggRobo with him.

"Good riddance!" Vector stated.

"Now to get rid of this place, so that Eggman can never lure unsuspecting travelers into his clutches ever again." Knuckles said.

"Take me to the central computer of this place and I'll set this place to blow, I'm good with computers!" Vector stated.

"Me might want to get our gear and stuff back as well. I miss my goggles." Charmy added.

"And while we're at it, we might get our hands on a certain rat…" Mighty said, punching his fist into his palm.

The heroes first searched the place for the storage where the prisoners' belongings were held. Knuckles put his tribal outfit back on, Vector had a long brown detective coat and a set of headphones, Charmy and orange vest and goggles, Espio a black ninja outfit, Mighty some brown gloves and red shoes and Ray a blue hoodie.

Later, they found the computer room (no not making a meme joke, and Vector just worked his magic and set the place to blow. Afterwards, they shoved that git of a Renfield Rodent in an escape pod and sent him off somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Later on, the group boarded a few Egg Mobiles that were in storage and flew off as the amusement park blew off in the distance. They landed safely back near the echidna temple, and Knuckles turned to his friends: "I thank you for your help in escaping." He said.

"Is nothing, we should thank you, your wits and determination allowed us to get out." Vector complimented.

"Yeah, you're the most awesome guy we met! Cooler then Captain Tornado, the greatest comic book hero ever!" Charmy said cheerfully.

"You showed wisdom, strength and skill, as well as leadership and quick thinking Espio added.

"Yeah, you're the best." Mighty said.

"Y-y-yeah, what they said." Ray said shyly.

"You are a real inspiration!" Heavy stated. Bomb pinged. "Bomb says you're awesome."

"Thanks guys, but I just did what I had to do, couldn't let you rot in there. But you're free now. You can take the Egg Mobiles and go home to the surface and live your lives now." Knuckles said.

"You're not getting rid of us that easily. We were a team out there, a pretty good team in fact. Why should we break that up right now?" Vector stated.

"Besides, we can't let you stay at this island all alone. You would like some company I think and you can use help cleaning up the mess and defending this island." Espio added.

"Yeah, we're a team now!" Charmy said cheerfully.

"You saved us, and in return we help you protect this island." Mighty said.

"You're our friend now, friends help each other." Ray continued.

"Besides, our old homes are destroyed by Eggman, or we can't go back to them for one reason or another. We would like to stay if you don't mind." Heavy finished. Bomb pinged. "Bomb says we don't want to be of trouble but…"

Knuckles pondered for a moment. "Well, it can be lonely here at times…and you guys have quite grown on me. Guess there's no way out of this. Well, welcome to Angel Island, your new home!" Knuckles said.

"Cool, now all we need is a cool name. We're like a superhero team are we? We need a cool name. We're like the Justice Brigade, only with less fancy superpowers or backgrounds but still…" Charmy said excited.

"Don't know about comic books, but a good group name would be welcome." Vector said.

"What kind of group would we be? We're a real chaotic bunch you know." Espio asked.

"Chaotic…Chaotix! That's our name." Knuckles said.

"Has a nice ring to it. All in favor of 'Chaotix', raise your hands." Mighty stated. Everyone raised their hands. "Chaotix it is!"

"We're going to be the best team of heroes there is!" Charmy said excited.

"We sure will be. Well, who wants some food that's edible for a change? There grows fruit, mushrooms and plants in the forest we can eat, and we can catch some fish. I can fix something up…" Knuckles said.

And that day, the guardian truly felt like he was part of something bigger, and he felt he had an identity, amongst his new friends. While many questions are still left unanswered, he has less to worry about, since he knows his new friends have his back…

In the middle of the ocean, Renfield's escape pod floated, Renfield looking scared. "Hello? Anybody out there? I'm getting seasick!"

END OF CHAPTER


	33. Unlikely Union

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: UNLIKELY UNION

The Shazamazon, a tropical forest in the continent known as Soumerca, which basically is to the people of Mobius what South America is to us. In this forest, a long war unrelated to the Eggman war of the past decade has been going on. One that lasted for countless generations. The war between two of the fiercest of warrior races, who had little technology but great reputation, skill and wits, which allowed them to elude the mad doctor for so long: the Wolf Pack Nation and the Felidae.

The Wolf Pack consisted of wolves as the name suggested. Though a warrior race, they are actually really peace-loving and benevolent. Though they hold on to old customs and traditions they are friendly towards other races and people as long as they don't share animosity towards them. Knowing the threat Eggman forms, they aligned themselves with the Freedom Fighters.

Though they still use very little to no technology, the Freedom Fighters have supplied them largely with medical supplies and food that has become less common due to Eggman's interference, as well as info on Eggman's artillery, which allowed them to endure for so long, and in case of the worst they called on other freedom fighters to aid them.

Then on the opposite side of the spectrum we had the Felidae. Though also a warrior race, the feline tribe was totally different from the wolves. They also hold on to old customs and traditions, but their ways were brutal and medieval at times and they did anything, even horrible things to keep their tribe 'pure'.

Pure being the keyword, the Felidae are extremely xenophobic and think of other tribes as lesser and weak, and are violent and antagonistic to non-felines. They didn't align themselves with the Freedom Fighters or the Eggman Empire, and only trusted on their own methods and supplies, which put them at a disadvantage, though they were too prideful to ask help.

And yet, these tribes are after a long time going to put aside their differences and bury the hatch because of one special event: a wedding between a Wolf and a Felidae. This union should finally bring peace at last. The bride was Elektra, the daughter of the Felidae queen Hathor. The groom was Wolf Pack Warrior Diablo. They had met one another on the battlefield, but love was stronger than any weapon and the two gave in.

The Wolves were suspicious of the Felidae, but if it means bringing this long war to an end and prevent further blood from being shed, then they agreed. The Felidae were furious, and it had caused uproar, but even the very firm and cold Hathor apparently couldn't turn her back on her own daughter and reluctantly accepted. A pact of peace was made; the pact would be fulfilled when the two finally would marry.

But it was not without its risks. There would be several wolves and felines that wouldn't approve of it, and would attempt to put a stop to the wedding, the so called 'Purists'. That's why there were two guests of honor who would attend the wedding to keep an eye on things. Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn. "Sonic! Sally!" the chief of the wolf pack; the female wolf called Lupe greeted the two heartily as she hugged them.

"Nice to see you too, Lupe!" Sally greeted. Before the Emerald Archipelago Freedom Fighters were formed, way before their first mission in Scrap Brain, the heroes have been sent out to other freedom fighter teams around the world to train. Lupe's pack has trained Sonic and Sally. Lupe has been both a mother and a sister to them at the same time. "Yeah, where were the days we were saving the forest from some Eggbots and kick some kitty-kat cans?" Sonic said in good humor.

"You didn't lose that charm of yours Sonic. I'm glad you could make it. This is a historical event for both people." Lupe said.

"And that's why we're here; to make sure nothing goes wrong!" Sally added. "Yeah, can't let those lovebirds' best day of their lives go to waste?" Sonic said as he pointed to the soon to be weds. Diablo was a brown wolf wearing a blue vest wearing golden bracelets. Elektra was a cheetah-like felines with long black hair and dark brown Amazon-like clothing.

"Never thought that of all my wolves, Diablo would marry first. He's a level-headed and smart wolf, but so shy around girls. And of all girls he gotten, he got Elektra. She's an oddball amongst her people, but also very rash and energetic." Lupe said.

"They remind us of ourselves. They fill out one another rather well if you ask me." Sally stated.

"'Ourselves'? Did you two finally admit your feelings?" Lupe asked.

"We did, and now every day with her is like a piece of heaven. If we weren't so clueless we'd have done it sooner, everyone knew it before we did!" Sonic said as he wrapped his arm around Sally.

"And when are you two going to tie the knot?" Lupe asked.

"Not yet. There is still a lot of work to be done. There are our families to release from the Badnik suits, old bonds to be renewed and such. But you bet your furry behind I'll be spending the rest of my days as Ms. Sonic Hedgehog." Sally replied as she kissed Sonic on the cheek.

"I wish you all the happiness and luck you deserve. And no one deserves it more then you two." Lupe said, happy for the two. "Thanks, Lupe!" they said to her.

"Sonic! Sally!" two young voices sounded as two young wolf cubs came in and hugged the two. "Hey, Marcos, Mari, has been so long. Look how much you've grown!" Sally said happily. Marcos and Mari were Lupe's kids. They were like family to Sonic and Sally when they were training with the Wolf Pack. Marcos had a blue vest and boots, as well as blue and gold braces, and had brown fur. Mari wore a blue leotard with gold braces and had grey fur.

"I get to be the flower girl!" Mari said excited. "That's really great!" Sonic said as he rubbed her head. "And I'll be the bodyguard! If there are some mean cats who want to disturb the wedding, they'll deal with me!" Marcos added. "Oh, if I were a Felidae, I'd be scared." Sonic joked.

"Lupe, sweetheart, you hold the twins for a while? My arms are getting tired!" a brown furred wolf said to Lupe, as he turned to Lupe. This was Lobo, Lupe's husband and the father of Marcos and Mari. In his arms were two baby girl wolves, who were crying. They were both brown-furred, one having a blonde tuft of hair and another a red tuft on their head.

"Oh…You two got yourselves more kids? And twins for the second time in a row?" Sonic said surprised as Lobo handed the twin wolves to Lupe.

"Indeed. These are Athena and Aerial. Aren't they precious?" Lupe said. Sally tickled the two's chins and made them laugh. "They sure are!" "Wanna hold them?" Lupe asked. Sonic and Sally were reluctant but they took each one of the cubs in their arms, who were comfortable in their presence and smiled at them.

"Oh they like you already. I think you'll be great parents someday." Lupe said delighted. "I really want to have kids of my own someday. There is just something enchanting about them." Sally replied. Then Sally's face twitched awkwardly as she blushed and said: "Er…Lupe? I think she's hungry." Sally stated, as the young Athena bit with her toothless mouth in Sally's breast trying to get some milk.

Lupe giggled as she took the babies back, before she said: "Well, I'm going to feed my girls in private. Lobo, you take them for patrol?" "Certainly sweetheart." Lobo replied as Lupe left the scene. "So, let's take a look around, and see if everything goes right." Lobo stated as he gestured Sonic and Sally followed him.

They first came across Diablo, who was sitting down on a log, looking nervous and shaky. Another red furred fox, in a green vest tried to comfort him, the more outgoing and fun-loving Reynard: "You shouldn't feel nervous, you're going to be part of the greatest wedding of the century, no need to be nervous. Because of you this war ends…okay, maybe that's reason to be nervous…but you got yourself a smoking hot girl."

"You're really terrible at this Reynard." "Yeah, you're making it worse!" said two pink-furred black-haired wolf girls, identical at first, the only thing setting them apart is the color of their leotards: Leeta's was green and Lyco's was blue. The two then notice Sonic: "Hey Sonic, can you give a motivational speech to Diablo here?" "Yeah, he's nearly having a nervous breakdown."

Sonic sighed as he approached Diablo: "Hey, you don't need to be nervous. You don't need to think of this as the day peace will be brought to the people, but your big day. Yours! And Elektra's! She chose you, not any other stuck-up cat from her tribe, she chose you. She loves you, she defied her people for you, and there is nothing to fear." Sonic stated.

"But…what if something goes wrong?" Diablo muttered. "Then you got us and your entire wolf pack behind you to pick you up if you fall!" Sonic assured him. "Thanks Sonic, I needed that." Diablo thanked. "That is how you cheer someone up!" Sonic whispered to Reynard, who rubbed the back of his neck.

"Darling!" a feminine voice shouted as the bride to be, Elektra rushed in and tackled her boyfriend to the ground. "You know it brings bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Diablo joked. "Screw that, I want to hold my future husband!" Elektra said as she held Diablo close. She then noticed our heroes. "Blue, spiky…you must be Sonic, Diablo told all about you. And you must be Sally. Diablo told me all about you." She greeted.

"Yep, that's me, fastest thing alive, good friend of the wolves, so natural they speak highly of me." Sonic said. "Nice meeting you. You're Princess Elektra right?" Sally added.

"Just call me Elektra, the Princess thing makes me feel old. Besides, I think you'd be a much better princess then me, Sally." Elektra stated. "In another lifetime maybe." Sally said.

"Hey Sonic, think the fastest thing alive can outrace a cheetah? First at the end of the village wins!" Elektra said. "Sounds like a challenge. Hope you're hungry; you'll be eating my dust! Keep some room for the wedding cake!" as the two took positions. "Ready, set, go!" They both said. Both Sally and Diablo sighed as they both said: "Those two are always in such a rush."

Lobo had guided Sally and Diablo to the spot where Sonic and Elektra had raced to. "Have to admit, you are the fastest opponent I ever got to beat, not counting that evil energy clone of mine and that robot copy…long story." Sonic complimented Elektra.

"You're the first one to ever best me. Guess you really are the fastest thing alive. Which means I have to practice hard to outdo you in the future." Elektra said. "You wish!" Sonic said.

They saw how at the spot they were wolves and Felidae alike were working to put everything into place from seats to an altar to some pillars and torches to give atmosphere to the wedding. The wolves mostly worked together and being polite in nature tried to help the Felidae when they could, but the prideful cats refused help in their tasks from the wolves. "Still some hard feelings between them? It's living like cat and dog." Sonic noted.

"Most of them are that way unfortunately, and I'm not happy to be part of them. I was always a bit different than them. But they're not all like that; my friends are actually fine with the wolves like me. I'll introduce you." Elektra said as she guided them to a small group of Felidae.

One was a big purple cat, who had massive amounts of girth, a brown belt, boots and gloves. "This is my cousin Biggis, just 'Big' for short. He doesn't look smart, but don't let that fool you. He's a thinker and a fighter." Elektra introduced. "I'm so happy to meet all of you." he said in a soft and happy voice as he scooped Sonic and Sally in a hug, nearly crushing them. "Nice meeting you too!" Sonic said, making a painful face under the hug. Big put them down gently.

Then there were two cat girls. They were in heights, looks, shape and appearance pretty much the same, but they looked like palette swaps of one another. One of the girls had yellow fur, black hair and a red dress; the other had pink fur, a blue dress and blonde hair. "These are my best friends, Honey (points to the cat in red dress) and Mirror (points to the cat in blue dress)!"

"How are you doing, blue? Don't mind if I call you blue? And don't mind if I call you sugar-queen, because that's what you look like to me." Honey said. "My sister tries to say it's a honor meeting such great Freedom Fighters as you." Mirror said as she bowed politely.

"We dream of one day kicking some butt too! Queen cactus-up-her-butt wouldn't let us join the Freedom Fighters. But maybe that'll change too once the wedding comes!" Honey noted. "Oh it would be so wonderful!" Mirror added. "Yeah, we'll be heroes!" Big said with a goofy but cute smile on his face.

"One step at a time, but once we get to that point, we might do a good word for you, the Freedom Fighter academy needs new material!" Sonic assured them.

"They already get along with some of the wolves, Mirror and Honey are becoming friendly with the pink wolf twins and Big and Canus too due to the two's love of cooking!" Elektra said.

"That's certainly a step in the right direction. If only your mother was so approving." Diablo noted.

As if on cue, a tall mobian female feline in red robes and a headdress. "You may count yourself lucky, wolf." She said. "Er…Sonic, Sally, this is my mother, Queen Hathor."

"Nice meeting ya, queenie!" Sonic said, reaching out his hand, but she jerked her head and looked like Sonic like he was a piece of dirt. "Show some respect, abomination! I'm royalty." She growled.

"Mom, he's trying to be friendly in his own way. Would it kill you to smile?" Elektra said, annoyed at her mom. Hathor gave her daughter a dirty look: "You better appreciate what I put at stake: my dignity, the respect of my people…all because of your odd love for the wolf." "Mom, he has a name you know!" Elektra groaned.

"Never mind her. It's no secret how she feels about me. I'm already asking so much of her, so let it slide." Diablo said as he put a hand on her shoulder. Elektra sighed. "Is it wrong to have hope?" Elektra asked. "No, makes you Mobian." Diablo said. "You're so sweet, my darling!" Elektra said as she kissed her fiancée on the lips, to Hathor's clear disgust.

During the night, Sonic and Sally got their own hut to sleep (but they held back to not wake their neighbors) and everything seemed tranquil and quiet at night. Nothing seemed wrong, but as in these kind of stories, it never stays that way for long. As Freedom Fighters, the two were used to only sleeping half, and wake up quickly and react to the slightest sound. And that's what Sally heard. "Sonic, wake up! I hear something." Sally said. "What exactly?"

"A group of people, Felidae I think because they're light on their feet. Also more Felidae than a standard safety patrol." Sally noted. "And I thought Muttski had good hearing. Let's check it out!" Sonic said. The two got out of bed and peeked out their hut, and saw a group of Felidae stroll in the direction of Diablo's hut. "Time for those guys to take a catnap!" Sonic whispered.

Sally nodded as they snuck closer and surprised some Felidae from behind, knocking them out swiftly before blending back in the shadows. Some Felidae turned around to see their comrades knocked out and looked surprised. Then Sonic quickly knocked them out using his speed. A few more reacted and move closer, only for Sally to pop up from a tree and swings on a branch, knocking the Felidae out with a kick.

There was only one Felidae left, and he was the biggest and strongest looking of all. He mixed elements of a lynx and a leopard. "Who are you?" he asked our heroes. "Friends of the groom." Sonic stated. "Then you're no friend of mine, I'll destroy you, no one gets in the way of my noble mission." The big Felidae replied.

"Killing someone in his sleep is not noble, but cowardly. You're anything but a warrior." Sally berated him. "Insolent wench! I'm Razorklaw, the champion of the Felidae, I was promised to the princess until that impure wolf took her from me!" Razorklaw replied.

"Are you sure she didn't dump you? I'd do the same if I were her." Sonic mumbled. Razorklaw roared in anger as he rushed at Sonic, who used his speed to dodge his swipes, appear behind him and kick him in the back of the head, sending him face-forward to the ground. "And if you're the best Felidae warrior, I'd like to see the worst." Sonic mocked. But Razorklaw took him by surprise by sweeping him off his legs with his foot, before pinning him down to the ground with his massive hand.

"Sonic!" Sally said. "No worries Sal! I got this." Sonic said as he started to vibrate, heating up his body and Razorklaw pulling back in pain from the built up heat that burnt his hand. Sonic then spin-dashed into his belly and knocked him into a tree. He then used his super speed to tie him to the three with a vine.

"What is going on here?" A groggy Elektra asked as she got out of her hut (she didn't sleep with Diablo yet, they weren't married after all) until she noticed Razorklaw. "You? Didn't I tell you I never wanted to see you again? I told you I didn't love you."

"I was promised to you, the impure one stole you from me." Razorklaw stated.

"He didn't, I fell in love with him on my own. Besides, he beat you fair and square in combat; he won my hand fair and square. And he didn't fight for me because I'm a prize, he didn't want to lose me to you." Elektra reacted.

"He not only cheated, he didn't have the guts to finish me like the law of the Felidae state." Razorklaw spat.

"He showed mercy, and you should be grateful for that. Besides, his people don't kill just because they can. They value a life that can be saved. He is not weak, he is noble. Nobler then you could ever be!" Elektra stated.

"Really?" Diablo said who just had gotten onto the scene. Razorklaw hissed. "Of course, darling! You really handed his butt in that fight. I'm glad you did." Elektra said as she pecked her fiancée on the cheek. She then turned to a few guards whose attention were drawn because of the ruckus: "Take these lowlifes somewhere they can't get in the way of our wedding." She ordered. The guards complied as they carried them off.

"Oof, I'm glad that's over, now the purists have made their move, everything's fine for the wedding…right?" Sonic stated.

"I don't know, I still feel there is something wrong. It was too easy, I bet they're luring us in a false sense of security." Sally noted.

"We'll be ready for it. Those who dare to ruin our day shall feel the wrath of the Wolf Pack." Diablo said seriously.

"Indeed, we want to be together forever, not even the Walkers can hold us apart." Elektra stated.

The heroes all went back to bed and the rogue Felidae were carried off, but the feeling that something was wrong still hung in the air. How would this turn out tomorrow at the wedding?

TO BE CONTINUED


	34. Wedding Crashers

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: WEDDING CRASHERS

After the events of last night, Razorklaw and his group of purists were arrested and would await trial later on, but for now the wedding was priority. There were extra patrols on both tribes' and Sonic and Sally were keeping an eye out. But after last night's events everything seemed quiet.

In her hut, Honey and Mirror, as well as Lyco and Leeta were helping Elektra with her dress, which was a long red robe, black leotard, golden collar, bracelets and headband with several feathers. Also some marks in ceremonial paint were brought o her face. "Just a few more…there, don't you look precious?" Mirror said as she finished the paint. "For a walking canvas that is…just kidding!" Honey added.

"Knowing Diablo, he'll be paralyzed with amazement once he sees you." Lyco added. "I bet he'll be drooling too…" Leeta said.

"I just want to look good for him…but I can't shake this feeling that something bad is ahead, ready to crash it all. But I don't want that to happen…" Elektra said nervously.

"That's why you got us! To watch your back." Mirror stated. "Yeah, if anyone rears its ugly head to crash everything, we'll crash him in return." Honey added. "You can count on all of us to make sure things go right!" Lyco continued. "Cause we're friends, right?" Leeta finished. Elektra smiled and nodded, touched by her friends' concern.

Meanwhile, Reynard, Lobo and Lupe were helping Diablo with his new tribal clothing, which consisted of blue robes, ceremonial paint and golden bracelets. "There, don't you look handsome. Elektra will be stunned." Lupe assured him.

"I just hope everything will go right, this is supposed to be Elektra's best day ever, and I can't help but think something will go wrong." Diablo said sadly.

"Well, there were some purist attacks, but those were easily averted. Besides we're warriors right, if anyone is stupid enough to try something, we'll make them pay." Reynard stated.

"That's the smartest thing you have ever said." Lobo stated. He then turned to Diablo: "Remember this Diablo, we're all family. Not by blood, but by heart, the entire pack is your family and the entire pack fights to protect their family. We're all behind you."

Diablo sighed as he said: "I know you guys are all great warriors, and great friends. And there's no one else I rather want to watch my back. Thanks for being there."

Sonic and Sally were doing a last patrol, also sporting ceremonial robes and face paint. "I almost forgot how much this paint itches. I wanna scratch, but I can't!" Sonic said, his face twitching. "Try not to think about it, then you don't feel it." Sally stated.

They passed the banquet table, where Canus and Big were putting all the dishes and drinks. "Those fruit-filled fish look very tasty Big, you've outdone yourself!" Canus complimented. "Your special stew of wild Picky smells delicious too!" Big complimented back.

"Too bad they don't serve chilidogs on weddings. But still looks good to me." Sonic stated. "Seriously, someday you'll turn into a chilidog yourself." Sally joked. She checked her watch as she said: "We should get to our seats, it's nearly time." She said. Sonic offered his arm, which Sally held onto when they walked to their seats.

The prominent Wolf Pack and the Felidae members sat down on their seats. It was an open air wedding, with a specialized altar shrine at the front. Two priests, one Felidae and one Wolf priest each leading the ceremonies. Both the bride and the groom were brought in by the tribe leaders, Lupe brought Diablo, Hathor brought her daughter in. They led both of them to the altar in the front, before leaving them with each other and sit down in the crowd.

"We have gathered today to unite this young warrior wolf…" "…and this young Felidae princess…" "…for all eternity…" the priests spoke up. "If someone has any objection against this wedding…" "Speak now or be silent."

"I am!" Hathor said as she jerked up, no one really surprised. Elektra growled at her mother, and so did Diablo. "Mom, you agreed to this, it's not the time to get cold feet. If you still can't accept it, then bad luck, cause we're not breaking it up now." Elektra growled.

"I know you won't…Felidae! The ruse is up!" Hathor ordered, and nearly every Felidae, the patrolling guards and the attendants stood up, pulled out their weapons, some of them hidden ones at the wolves. "Nice job, my daughter, to distract them."

"What? What do you mean? I really love Diablo, I really want to marry him and bring the tribes at peace! I didn't agree to be part of any of your plans. This wasn't supposed to happen. I thought you should be fine with it. I thought you loved me enough to put aside this petty feud." Elektra said, sounding sadly.

"Of course you didn't know. You wouldn't agree to it, seeing how you have been lusting after that inferior being. But I was hoping to lure the Wolves in a false sense of security and finally end the war forever." Hathor said, with a mean grin on her face.

"You planned it from the start, even Razorklaw's failed attempt to avoid suspicion. You used your daughter as a tool! You have no shame? She's your own flesh and blood. What kind of mother are you?" Diablo growled.

"She is no longer my daughter. Ever since she let in with a wolf, she ceased to be one of the Felidae. She's impure now, and impurities need to be removed. She'll die alongside the rest of these virmin!" Hathor stated.

Elektra's hand swiped at Hathor, leaving three claw marks on her face, the evil cat queen staggering back. "This was supposed to be the best day of my life! I got the man I loved, and I thought that finally everything was going to be all right, no more fighting, no more hiding who I am…screw it! I'll continue fighting if I have to, but against my own people, who aren't worth it."

"Not worth? How dare you look down on our tribe like that?" Hathor growled. "It's not my tribe anymore." Elektra said, a tear rolling from her face.

"And neither ours!" a voice said, belonging to Honey, as she, her sister Mirror and Big rushed in and stood in between Elektra and Hathor. "We are tired of all the violence, the blood being spilled, and for what? For no reason but your own arrogance and pride. You have no reason to fight, yet you do so. We're behind Elektra." Mirror said. "Yeah, go rot in the litterbox, queen cactus-up-her-butt!" Honey added. "Yeah, you are not very nice!" Big said.

"I could have known you'd betray us as well. You were always so close to her (points at Elektra). You'll die with the wolves as well, and so are that hedgehog and that squirrel." Hathor growled.

"Not really planning on dying today, I still got plans for the future. Wolves, let's show them what you got!" Sonic said, and the wolves also pulled out weapons hidden in their robes, armed to the teeth.

"We were on to you since the beginning Hathor. We knew how your people work and the fact you agreed on this wedding made it too suspicious to be true. But we were prepared for everything." Sally stated.

"Even in case Elektra would be involved in this. But after spending time with her and getting to know her, we realized her feelings were real, as was her wish for peace. Now we will fight to protect her from you." Lupe added.

"Elektra is one of us now, and we'll fight beside her against you." Lobo assured them all.

"This war will end now, too many blood has been spilled, and lives have been lost for decades. And for what? Yeah, actually why are we conducting this war." Reynard stated.

"We are Felidae, we need no reason, we are superior beings, anything below us is inferior. Anyone who think otherwise shall learn their place, under our feet…like bugs!" Hathor growled.

"Cat-shit crazy, I'm telling ya." Sonic muttered. "Let's fight as well Sonic, to protect the tribe that have guided us when we were young, that treated us as family." Sally said. "Don't have to tell me twice!" Sonic said.

"ATTACK!" Both Lupe and Hathor ordered their tribes, and once again the long war between the wolves and the cats resumed.

Sonic dodged under a Felidae's claw swipes, before sweep kicking him to the ground, before catching a spear between his hands and used it to flip the Felidae holding it over his head and into a tree. Several more approached Sonic, but Sonic used his speed to run circles around them, first appearing to have done nothing before the ground under the cats collapsed and they sank into the ground.

Sally used her bo staff to block swipes from the spears of the Felidae, before knocking them out of their hands. She struck them in their toes, stomachs and faces, as the felines hold their sour spots in pain before Sally whacks them again, knocking them out. More Felidae sporting blades arrived on the scene. Sally pulled out the sword made from Slicer's blade and used it to clash with the Felidae's sword swipes, easily parrying and disarming the before knocking them out with her bo staff. She then connects the blade to her bo staff, turning it into a scythe, using it to swipe around cutting the swords and the spears of the other cats in half, who gulped, before Sally dug the scythe into the ground, creating a crack in the ground that travelled up to the cats and made them fall into the collapsing ground.

Lupe and Lobo fought alongside each other, husband and wife, both lashing out with their spears, while avoiding Felidae spear swipes, before sweeping them off their feet using their weapons and smacking them in the heads, knocking them out. One of the Felidae tried sneaking up on them, but it got out by Elektra. "Thanks, Elektra. I'm sorry we doubted you in the beginning." Lupe said.

"Hey, I nearly didn't believe it myself." Elektra said. "You forgive us then?" Lobo asked. "Sure, that's what family's for right? If you want to call me family." Elektra replied. "You can be sure we do!" Lupe said as they resumed their fight with the Felidae.

Elektra jumped up and launched a jump kick towards one of the Felidae, before picking up his blade and used it to fight off some others, blocking swipes of their weapons. She blocked a sword swipe with her own, before she kneed her attacker in the stomach and tossed him in another group of cats.

Some Felidae charged at Lyco and Leeta, who pulled out their swords and blocked the sword swipes of the Felidae, before kneeing them in the stomachs and punching them in the faces, both simultaneously. As if reading each other's minds, Lyco gave Leeta a boost by bending over, allowing her sister to jump over her and kick some Felidae, before she stood up right again, her sister grabs her hands and swings her around to kick away some cats.

Honey and Mirror equally worked together as sisters, both clawing at some Felidae's faces. They jumped up, hooked their arms in mid-air, and the spun around, using their feet to walk on the faces of the Felidae, kicking them off before agilely landing to the ground safely?

Reynard ducked under a few sword swipes, as well as moving aside, before he climbed into a tree to get away. The Felidae followed but Reynard tosses a piece of fruit in one's face, who lost his grip and fell down, accidentally dragging down the other Felidae with him.

Canus had grabbed some food from the banquet table and used it as projectile weapons to toss. He first tossed some pies, which only pissed of the Felidae, but when they headed towards Canus, they slipped on some whipped cream. Canus then tossed all kinds of stuff: hot soup that burned them, several fruits that got stuck on their heads and some smelly cheese that knocked them out. Some Felidae were left standing, but Canus bashed their heads in with a large ham.

One Felidae made a fist and tried to punch Big in the gut…only to discover that Big's girth wasn't lard, but actually bulk, and hurt his hand by punching Big's stomach. Big shrugged his shoulders and punched the feline, knocking him out. Several more Felidae approached him, but Big jumped up and belly-flopped them, the Felidae having scared looks on their faces before they were being flattened.

Several Felidae were fighting some other wolves, until one of them got a vase tossed at his head, which broke and knocked him out. Several other Felidae got heavy stuff tossed at their heads as well, courtesy of Marcos and Mari who were tossing them from the treetops.

Diablo was kicking around some Felidae as someone roared and charged at Diablo, who back flipped over the attacker in time to dodge it's attack. "You know Razorklaw, surprise attacks only work when you take someone by surprise, shouting out to the heavens doesn't help." Diablo stated.

"You won't defeat me again, there are no rules this time. You took Elektra from me, and made her impure…she's lost to me now. Well, if can't have her, no one can." Razorklaw said as he roared and swiped, but Diablo dodged again. Diablo grabbed a spear from a Felidae he knocked out and lashed at Razorklaw, who caught it and snapped it in half. He then punched Diablo, sending him flying.

He rushed at the wolf, but Diablo got up, grabbed a branch with his arms and swings, kicking Razorklaw in the chest. He then rushes at Razorklaw, who swiped at Diablo, who ducks under it and slider under Razorklaw's legs, before kicking him hard in the back of Razorklaw's knees, breaking them as the cat collapsed on his hands and feet. Diablo then moved to his face as he said: "This is for ruining my wedding day!" as he punched Razorklaw hard in the face, out cold.

Hathor looked scared as her troops were getting defeated and she was losing the battle, and tried sneaking away. Only for Lupe to halt her. "No…for too long you have hurt my people, for petty reasons, it ends now!" Lupe said as she readied her staff.

"Fine, I was waiting for this a long time." Hathor threw off her robes, revealing battle gear underneath as she pulled two swords and started lashing with them, Lupe blocking with her staff. They exchanged swipes for a while, both seeming equal, before Hathor jumped up and swiped with both swords, the impact split Lupe's spear in half (which she had used to block). But Lupe used both halves to keep parrying and attacking Hathor.

Hathor swiped the spear parts out of Lupe's hands, but Lupe kicks one sword out of Hathor's hand, sending it flying and it landed on the ground in the distance. But Hathor kicks Lupe, sending her flying as well, before she rushed in with her sword and wanted to finish her. Lupe instead grabbed the sword that she disarmed from Hathor and used it to stab her in the chest before the feline queen could end her life. "Is this…how it ends?" Hathor moaned before she drops down dead.

The remaining Felidae were so shocked by the death of their queen, combined with the fact that there was no one to take command, were quickly driven off or knocked out, either running away, or getting captured by the wolves. The Wolf Pack cheered for this victory. "Finally my brethren, the war with the Felidae has ended today. The Wolf Pack is victorious." Lupe announced to her people.

"But there is still one thing left…" Diablo noted as he took Elektra's hand. The wolf priest, who had knocked the Felidae priest out with his book, cleared his throat as he said: "Let's skip the whole vow thing, I declare you husband and wife, kiss the bride!" Elektra and Diablo kissed as everyone cheered for the pair.

"Welcome to the family, Elektra, from now on, you're one of us, you'll be treated as a sister by us, and for their bravery and loyalty to you, your friends are also treated as fellow Wolves from today." Lupe said to the Felidae princess. Big, Honey and Mirror looked really proud.

"We should also thank Sonic and Sally for their help today, without their precautions we might have fallen into a deadly trap." Diablo stated.

"Hey it's nothing. We're Freedom Fighters, it's what we do. And you guys are our surrogate family. Of course we were glad to help." Sonic replied.

"And I'm glad we could be part of this, as a bright future for the tribe is ahead, and it warms us on the inside to see that times of peace and kindness is at hand." Sally added.

"The wedding got out of hand, but it was still the best day of my life. I got Diablo, I got a home, and friends, a new family and I'm finally free from the cruel ways of my old tribe." Elektra said.

"And I just became the happiest wolf in the world." Diablo said.

"Hey this is still a wedding! We need to party. Let's get this Felidae in prison and get ready to party!" Sonic suggested. Everyone agreed with that.

Despite the fact that the scenery had been damaged by the fights and a lot of the food and drinks were wasted as well, it didn't prevent Sonic, Sally, the Wolf Pack and the new feline members to enjoy that night, as they danced the night away on the music and had a good time…

Let them enjoy for now, as somewhere else, something terrible was afoot. The black smoke, which had risen from the remains from the Death Egg has made his way to an old abandoned Eggman factory. "Maybe in here I have something left to use…" the smoke said in a high-pitched but menacing tone. It travelled deeper in the factory until it found a relatively intact humanoid robotic frame, which he flew into, and possessed.

The robotic body sprung to life as its eyes flashed red. "This will do for now, but it needs something extra. Luckily everything in this factory still appears to be in a good enough state." He moved his robotic host towards a console and dialed away at the buttons, the factory humming back to life.

"I'll restart the production here, while at the same time add some upgrades to the machines, but first of all, I need a better body to inhibit." It continued to dial at the console, as several robotic arms started working on a bigger and bulkier looking body, removing and replacing parts, or augmenting it.

"Soon, everything will be set into place for my glorious return…"

TO BE CONTINUED


	35. Wild Wild West

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: WILD, WILD WEST

The Great Desert, the hottest and driest region of Northammer. Even in a region where barely any life is, there exists good and evil, but sometimes you don't know where to find it. But let's take a look at the 'good'. Tails and Fiona, riding inside Tori, flew over the desert landscape, blowing up sand as they flew by. "Why are we flying here? I thought the desert Sub-Boss was defeated long ago!" Tori stated.

"Indeed, and with that the desert chapter of the Eggman Empire was in disarray, but somehow new attacks of Eggman robots have been sighted. That shouldn't happen because with the exception of the Sub-Bosses, most of Eggman's minions have limited intelligence. Enough to conduct labor, but not enough to take over operations once the leader has been eliminated. There is something wrong for sure."

"So, are we going to enlist aid of the Freedom Fighters of the Great Desert?" Fiona asked.

"We sure will. Amongst them are some real veterans. Each of our group has been mentored by one of them at one point. And being the first Freedom Fighter group to defeat a Sub-Boss, they're real legends. And I'm proud to know them." Tails answered.

"If you talk so highly of them then they have to be some great people." Fiona noted.

"They sure are Fi, they sure are." Tails said as they neared a town in the distance, looking like something right out of the Wild West gunslinger stories. As they approached it, they heard some ruckus up ahead.

"I'm detecting Egg Pawn activity up ahead, it's time for action. Those new mods that allow me to become mecha mode without a pilot should help us in this one!" Tori noted.

"Then let's get ready for action." Tails noted as he and Fiona pressed their eject seats. Tails shot out and flew using his Tails, while Fiona pulled out an Extreme Gear, and Tori shifted into Mecha Mode this time not needing Fiona inside to manually control the form, and the three flew into the action.

A group of gunslingers were firing at some Egg Pawns and some Sandworms, as well as some horse shaped robots for the Egg Pawns to ride on. One of them, a rabbit, fired at a Cowboy-themed Egg Pawn, knocking it of the Horse-bot and then shot the horse-bat itself in the head, taking it down. Another Sandworm tried to sneak up on him, only to get sliced in half by Tails' namesakes.

Tori and Fiona arrived too, Fiona pulling out her daggers and slashing at the Sandworms. The Egg Pawns pulled out guns and fired, but Tori jumped in front and used her wing shield to protect Fiona. "Fi, take these!" Tori said as she detached two parts which morphed into some guns, which Fiona caught and used them to shoot the Cowboy Pawns, shooting them to bits, while Tori used her propeller blades to slice them, and shoot with guns of her own, destroying them all. Soon the Pawns were all scrapped.

The gunslingers, consisting of a rabbit, a lizard, a roadrunner, a wolf and a bear approached them. "Thanks kid. We could have taken them, but it's nice that you made things easier for us." The rabbit greeted.

"You're welcome. I'm Tails, of the Emerald Archipelago Freedom Fighters, and these are Fiona, my girlfriend and Tori, our robotic comrade. We came here to see the Wild West Freedom Fighters." Tails explained.

"They've retired. We're the Freedom Fighters of this desert now. We're the Sand Blasters. I'm Jack; these are Avery, Tex, Shift E. Wolf and Jolt!" Jack introduced them.

But Tails didn't care about them, as Tails was surprised by the first statement he heard: "They've retired? The Wild West Freedom Fighters? It can't be! They are the best, they can't retire!" Tails said.

"It's true, sorry kid. They were great in their day, but they could no longer keep up with us once the new robot attacks began. Sorry to break it to you, but they have gotten old. I understand your sadness, they trained us too, and they have our respects. But they just couldn't do this forever." Jack ranted.

"But…they were the greatest, I looked up to them." Tails said sadly.

"Hey, let us cheer you up; we buy you a drink at the saloon! We got to celebrate our next victory over these scum bots after all. Er…Avery, Shift, you bring out the scrap and then you join us?" Jack said, first turning to Tails, then to his bear and wolf comrades, who nodded and started collecting the remains of the Egg Pawns.

"Can I help? I'm too large to fit in the saloon and otherwise I'll be standing outside doing nothing." Tori asked.

"No, we got this under control…though there is a gas station nearby if you need refueling. We don't use it often ourselves, but it's perfect for visitors." Shift stated.

"Well, I can use an oil change…have fun!" Tori said as she walked in the direction Shift E. Wolf pointed her. Tails and Fiona followed Jack in the saloon, Tails still sad.

Jack and his gang were greeted with lots of cheering and applause once they entered. "Yeah, thank you! Thank you! Just doing our job as heroes! Hey, give these two kids who helped us some lemonades, and give everyone here something too, my treat." Jack said as he gave the bartender some money and signed some autographs.

"You sure are loaded." Fiona noted as she saw how Jack paid for the entire saloon. "Well, it's all a token of appreciation we receive from the townsfolk. We do save the day on a regular basis, these robots come down to cause ruckus every two or three days." Jack explained.

"That's not how Eggman works. His strategy is once he is defeated, he retreats and plans something bigger, and he doesn't just attack to…well, attack. He doesn't waste resources." Tails noted.

"The robots obviously have a few screws loose after the big bot hit the sand. No worries, if they keep coming, we'll keep shooting the crap out of them." Jack said.

"But the Egg Pawns don't act on their own; they need to be led by something. Maybe there is a new sub-boss. We need to find their camp and defeat them from there." Tails stated.

"NO! I mean, we have something to celebrate, it can wait, just enjoy your lemonade." Jack said as he handed them their drinks.

"Well, flying in the hot desert makes you thirsty…" Fiona noted as she drunk her glass empty in one gulp. "But Tails is right, we shouldn't waste too much time, this needs investigation."

"Relax; one day of celebration can't hurt, right?" Jack stated. Tails sighed as he said: "Guess not. But if the Wild West Freedom Fighters are retired, what happened to them?"

"Oh, they took on other jobs, or went back to their home region…I'll tell you where they are later. Oh, there's one!" Jack answered as he pointed at a Mobian cat in long coat cowboy hat at the other end of the saloon.

"That's…Excuse me." Tails said as he put down his lemonade and went for the cat. "I'm going too." Fiona said as she followed Tails. They approached the Mobian cat, who was sipping down on a glass of whiskey. "Fleabyte?" Tails asked.

The Mobian cat looked up. He was aged, but looked good for his age. But he looked depressed. "Miles? Is that you? What are you doing here? And who is the cute girl with ya?" he greeted, trying to sound cheerful, but not doing a great job.

"I go by Tails now. And this is my girlfriend Fiona…but that's not the point. I've heard you retired. But how could you? You were the greatest, old age or not, you took on a hundred egg pawns with only twelve bullets and survived! How can you stand down? I'd imagine you keep on fighting till the day you died."

"Things change, Mi…Tails. It's true that I did the unbelievable…" Fleabyte said as he thought back on the day of a great victory…

FLASHBACK

Fleabyte stood eye to eye with a giant robotic scorpion robot. The other Wild West Freedom Fighters were dealing with some minions, but Fleabyte himself faced their leader. "It ends now Skorps, time for a final duel!" Fleabyte groaned.

"If you're not too old for this, feline. I wouldn't like you to fall asleep in the middle of this." The robotic scorpion mocked.

Both of them stared each other right in the eyes (or optics like with Skorps). They first tried to kill one another with looks. They turned their backs towards each other and took ten paces each. As they came to ten, both turned around, Fleabyte drawing his guns and shooting, while Skorps fired bullets from his tail.

The gun sounds stopped. Both of them just stood there, locked in the same position they were in when they fired. But then all of a sudden, a geyser of oil spouted out of Skorps' head, and he started to spark. "Argh! You got me!" he shouted as his own sparks lit his oil and he blew up, ended by the feline veteran forever.

END FLASHBACK

"For a time, there was peace. But then these Egg Pawns started reappearing, and launched attacks on regular basis. We continued fighting like we always did, but eventually due to the regular attacks, we grew tired. Then the Sand Blasters came, some rookies we trained ourselves. They managed to stay ahead of us, respond to the attacks quicker then we. They are younger and fitter, and we soon faded in the background. We no longer saw the use of fighting and left, each going back on our own paths." Fleabyte stated.

"Those Egg Pawns reappearing is suspicious. There is no shown Sub-Boss to lead them and yet they reappear. This is suspicious and those Sand Blasters don't seem to want to do anything about it, just reacting to emergencies as they come instead of preventing them. We need to be more active!" Tails stated.

"You and your girl need to be more active. I'm no longer in it. I'm sorry…" Fleabyte said as he drank the last of his whiskey. "Give me another, and make it a double one!" he said to the bartender.

"That stuff's bad for you." Fiona stated. "I shouldn't care anymore. Just leave me be." Fleabyte groaned.

Tails hung his head sadly, almost shedding tears for the disappointment, but instead busted out in anger: "FINE! I didn't want to believe it at first, but Jack was right, you have given up! You're no longer the Fleabyte I knew, the one who taught me to fight to the bitter end. I took that to heart, and I still do, even when you don't anymore. I'll try to get the others; they want to help me for sure." Tails said as he left. Fiona following closely.

"Tails, I haven't seen you this angry…not counting the time you went dark against those Battle Birds. I know he was your hero, and I know you must feel bad to be disappointed…" Fiona said.

"Never mind, let's see if the others are willing to fight…" Tails said as he wanted to leave the saloon, until he saw an orange mink girl on stage, singing to everyone in the saloon as someone provided piano music to go along with it. "Tiara!" Tails said as he approached the girl.

"Oh…hi Tails, I've heard how you came to help Jack! Nice seeing you again…" she said as she had stopped singing.

"Where is your dad? Where is Gazebo? We need him back!" Tails asked. "He…he's dead. He became ill in the aftermath of Skorps' defeat. I'm sorry, but the reunion of the Wild West Freedom Fighters won't include him." Tiara said sadly.

"Oh…I'm sorry Tiara. I respected him a lot. He thought me about technology you see…can't you help out, your dad taught you some fighting moves and something about technology." Tails said.

"I'm sorry, I'm not as good as my dad, and the Sand Blasters don't want a girl on their team. Personally, unlike everyone else, I'm not very fond of them, but I can't just measure with their skills or my dad's." Tiara replied.

"I thought of all people I could at least count on you…guess I was wrong. You continue singing." Tails said, mixture of anger and sadness dripping from his voice as he left. "I'm sorry; he has been through a lot." Fiona said to Fiona as she followed Tails outside.

Tails entered the workshop of a blacksmith, which was a Mobian horse, who was busy hammering on a glowing red horseshoe. "Rood!" Tails addressed the Blacksmith. "Half-pint? Is that you, man you're not so much half of a pint anymore. And you got a girl you see, you've grown a lot. Tell your uncle Rood all about what happened." The blacksmith greeted joyfully.

"Sorry Rood, but I have no time for that. I need the Wild West Freedom Fighters back. And you were the greatest muscle any team could have." Tails stated.

"I'm sorry half-pint, but my strength isn't what it used to be. Guess my age is catching up to me. Besides, those new Sand Blusters or whatever they're called do a decent job." Rood replied.

"Argh! Has everybody lost their mind?" Tails said as he left in anger again. "I'm sorry. I'm Fiona by the way. Sorry, Mr. Rood!" Fiona said as she followed Tails again.

Next, Tails went a bit outside of town, where a tipi was erected, and a Mobian native American-like hawk was meditating. He sensed Tails' approach. "I'm glad to see you again, Flying Fox. You even found a soul mate. Though I sense great anger in you. What is troubling you?" he asked.

"Burning Hawk, we need you back. We need the Wild West Freedom Fighters, and no one was a better skilled fighter then you. After Eggman destroyed your tribe, you rose from the ashes to fight; you need to do that again. They don't call you Toma-Hawk for nothing." Tails said, getting to the point.

"I…I can't. The metal monsters are too much for me these days. And the air spirits aren't on my side, they seem to favor those Sand Blasters, as does the population of Onyx Town. I had my chance, now it's time for the new generation." Toma-Hawk replied.

Tails was reaching a boiling point. "You were supposed to be the wise one, but the stupid has even infected you. Burning Hawk, my ass! Plucked chicken is more like it." Tails said as he left angrily.

"I'm sorry, Tails didn't mean it…" Fiona tried to say, but Toma-Hawk halted her: "The anger is justified, I deserve any words of flaming anger he tosses at me. Just take good care of him, Shimmering Vixen." Fiona left and once again went after Tails.

Near a gravestone at the town cemetery, where the name 'Gazebo Boobowski' was written on, an aged vulture lady in a long dress with an umbrella and a large hat with a feather in it. "I wish I could have told you how I felt about you before you passed on…but I didn't want to take the place of your wife. I could never replace her. At least you know peace now." She said to it.

She saw Tails and Fiona approach. "I know why you're here, Tiara already told me." She said to them.

"Ms. Grit, you're the only one left to turn to. Please, don't tell me you too!" Tails said, sounding desperate.

Ms. Grit sighed. "I'm sorry. But I can't do it. There are so many scars left, and those young freedom fighters, while they can be rude are effective in their own right. What do they need an old bird like me for?"

"I was foolish for believing there was some hope left." Tails said as he groaned again and turned around, but before he left, he first spoke a few words to Gazebo's grave: "I know you would have listened to me."

As Tails departed, Ms. Grit sighed. "I'm sorry…he's normally not like this." Fiona said.

"I know, Ms…Fiona Fox was it? Tiara told me. And you know what? I think your boyfriend is right, we are foolish old coots. We are giving up to easily. But it's too late. You better leave, it's a lost cause." She said in return before she left.

Tori had enjoyed an oil change and a waxing as she, in mecha mode, left the garage. She saw a piece of Eggman tech left lying around, which Shift and Avery had missed. She picked it up and hid it in her storage compartment. "Hey, big machine gal, you see if there are any bits of tech left? We can't take any risk, can we?" Shift asks.

"I have nothing." She stated as she left. Shift and Avery shrugged it off. Tori then started looking for Tails and Fiona. She soon found them, sulking near a ranch. "Hey lovebirds, why the long faces?" she asked them.

"I tried to bring back the Wild West Freedom fighters. But they aren't the heroes I remembered them to be. They were the only ones who taught me almost as much as Sonic and Sally did. I guess I was a fool myself for believing in them." Tails replied.

"To believe is not an act of foolishness, but strength. Gives you something to hold onto. Though they may have disappointed you, you still got us, and Sonic, Sally and everybody else." Fiona assured him.

"I want to try to trust the new Freedom Fighters, but I can't! Something is off about them. They're too much of glory hogs, and they were really anxious to keep us distracted from finding the source of the Eggman tech." Tails said.

"They're Freedom Fighters right? Which means they're the good guys?" Fiona said. "There's a difference between having a title and living up to it. I have a bad feeling about them. But they don't let me meddle. If only I had a clue." Tails replied.

"Oh, I salvaged a piece of tech from the Egg Pawns we destroyed; you want to take a look at it?" Tori asked as she handed the tech piece.

"Thanks Tori." Tails said as he carefully studied it. "This looks crummy, even for Eggman tech. It looks like it has been recycled countless times, and the new paintjob doesn't hide the quality of the metal, it's poor. It means someone is staging the robot attacks, repairing them time after time…something to make the old freedom fighters look bad, and the new ones look good."

"You think the Sand Blasters are the bad guys?" Fiona asked.

"I'm not sure, but we'll find out. I'm going to keep a close eye on them." Tails answered.

"But isn't it risky, the town loves them and we're with only three. Sure, Tori is an arsenal, but with her size and strength she isn't exactly subtle…no offense." Fiona said.

"None taken, I really should get myself a back-up body for stealth and to actually fit in a normal house for once." Tori replied.

"I guess it has to be the three of us, cause the Wild West Freedom Fighters have left us on our own." Tails said as he hung down his head.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	36. An even wilder west

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: AN EVEN WILDER WEST

Last time, Tails and Fiona went to the Great Desert to meet up with some real veteran heroes, the Wild West Freedom Fighters, only to see they have disbanded and a group of glory hogs called the Sandblasters have taken over. But are these new Freedom Fighters what they appear to be? Tails and Fiona went out to investigate, without help of the Wild West Freedom Fighters, how have lost confidence in themselves.

Tails and Fiona snuck around a barn, which was the hideout of the Sandblasters. Most people weren't allowed around, as the Sandblasters 'need some time to themselves as being a hero can be tiring'. But it didn't prevent Tails from using his head. Tails had no trouble getting around the security, using a special device to have several hidden camera's repeat footage, use special goggles to see hidden traps to avoid them, anything a genius like him would think off.

They snuck closer and climbed into a nearby windmill, before they took out binoculars. Tails tossed a special bug to allow him to listen in on conversations inside. They saw how on the inside, Shift E. Wolf was welding some Egg Pawns back together, Tex the lizard looking at some security footage Tails looped. "It would hurt to help me, you know!" Shift moaned.

"Hey, you're the technical genius, you're the only one who can put them back together." Jack said, playing cards with Avery and Jolt. "Yeah, but putting these Egg Pawns back together over and over, I can't keep doing this forever you know. One day they'll be damaged beyond repair." Shift groaned.

"We'll think of something, hiring some gangs to play for outlaws, frame some guys so we can track them down as criminals, there are ideas enough. Doesn't matter, because we know what will happen and we'll be able to react before anyone else can do! Four aces, I win!" Jack said, barely listening to shift as he won the card game, taking the money they've bet.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we responded to real emergencies, not the made up ones?" Shift asked. "What real emergencies, when the old farts destroyed Skorps, there was nothing left, there was no way we'd get the chance to show our stuff to the people! They kept worshipping those old-timers while we get in the background forever. You want that?" Jack asked.

"It would have feel satisfying to have actually earned the praise we get." Shift said as he welded a final part to the Egg Pawn. "What's there to complain about, we get the glory, the money, the girls, the praise and those old guys are in the background like we used to be. Life is good!" Jack said as he leaned back with his hands behind his head.

"But I kind of liked those guys…they've taught us after all." Shift muttered. "They have been holding us back, Shift! No need to get attached to them. They're not going to last any longer anyway, they are ancient." Jack assured him. Shift sighed as he reactivated the Egg Pawn.

"That's the last one, where do we send them next?" Shift asked. "Lemme think…we'll have them attack the Dragon ranch in the morning. Scaring people and have those big lugs stampede, that'd be a stunt." Jack said.

"Isn't that a bit risky? Those stampeding dragons can hurt people worse than the Egg Pawns could. "Well any person with a brain knows to jump aside when they see a dragon coming." Jack growled.

Jack waited until Shift left the room and started talking behind his back to the others. "Shift is a softie, hasn't he realized yet it's the law of the strongest out there?" "People might lose faith in us as someone dies in the stampede you know. We need to be extra careful on this one." Avery stated. "If one or two people die, it's no biggie, cause there are a few left to give us praise and money." Jack said coldly.

"Those rats! They really were behind it after all." Fiona growled softly. "I'm not surprised at all. I knew they were off. But those guys gave me just the greatest idea, not only it will expose them for the frauds they are, but will show them who the true heroes are." Tails said with a smirk on his face.

The next morning, the ranch of dragons. Like the Chomps on Angel Islands they were descending from Mobosaurs, only these ones were smaller. These breed of dragons had two horns on their head, which made them look really cow-like. The beasts were just running around in their pen, eating their hay and basking in the sun.

Then the Egg Pawns came, they came in a small horde and started firing, startling the beasts, who soon began to panic and running around wildly, eventually tearing down the boundaries of their pen and running around wildly, heading for the city fearfully.

The people saw the stampede coming and started to panic, shouting and begging for the Sandblasters to come and help them. The Sandblasters were at the other side of the city, ready to step in just as the beasts would trample the city and wreck some of the wooden buildings, and then shoot the beasts down. However, before the stampede neared the city, something else came up.

A few gunshots were launched in the air, making the dragons stop dead in their tracks. There he stood, his long coat blowing in the wind, his hat partially over his face, his buckle shiny…Fleabyte, holding his gun in the air, shooting some more, startling the beasts once more as they turned around in panic.

Some stragglers scattered in different directions, but these big reptiles were taken care off. Tiara Boobowski jumped onto the scene, the young Mink girl holding a staff with a jewel on top, which sparked with electricity. She shot some lightning in the sky to scare the dragons and scare them back.

Then came Rood. The big Mobian horse had his large hammer in his hand, and over his shoulder. He let out a big shout, as he crashed his hammer into the ground, creating a small shockwave that scared some dragons back.

Then was Ms. Grit. The old vulture lady pulled out her umbrella, a small spear-like point spouted from the top. "Get back! Get back!" she said as she swung the blade of her umbrella, scaring back some dragons.

Then was Toma-Hawk. He had a tomahawk in hand, but he didn't need it. Only a firm look in his eyes that made him look so intimidating that the dragons immediately moved back as they looked at him.

The Dragons were all driven back to the ranch, away from the city. But the Egg Pawns were still there, ready to cause more ruckus. But then Tails and Fiona moved in, the two slicing apart the Egg Pawns easily with their tails and daggers respectively, leaving none of them intact. Once the dragons were back in their pen, Tori moved in, who had some logs with her which she used to quickly repair it, trapping the dragons back inside.

The people rejoiced at the Wild West Freedom Fighters, who were not only back in action but pulled off one heck of a rescue. And without killing the stampeding dragons. The Sand Blasters stood there baffled, while Jack was fuming: "It can't be! They are frauds! They shouldn't have known in advance to be here like us…" he shouted, flapping it out before realizing the people were still listening, who looked at him funny.

"You heard that people? He said they knew in advance what the emergency was. So he could react in time, even before the Wild West Freedom Fighters knew. Isn't that suspicious?" Tails said amused.

"Er…it was our instinct?" Jack said sheepishly. "No, it's not! You and your buddies have been staging all the attacks, so you could gain the glory and look like heroes, while actually you are the bad guys!" Fiona shouted at them.

"That's not true! You can't prove it!" Jack reacted. Tails grabbed a recorder and played the conversation he had recorded with his electronic bug the evening before, for everyone to hear: how they kept repairing Egg Pawns to use, how they outdid the Wild West Freedom Fighters, how they called the people morons and never cared for them. The people looked at the Sandblasters in anger. Jack looked nervous.

Jack then lost it and grabbed a random woman from the crowd and held her at gunpoint. "Okay, stay back! Stay back or I'll blow her brains out!" he said insanely. "You wouldn't really do that, would you Jack?" Shift asked. "Of course I'd do! I already disposed of that mink girl's old man because he was on to us!" Jack replied.

"You killed my dad…but he was ill!" Tiara said shocked. "I poisoned him, you stupid bitch!" Jack shot at her. Tiara started to bury her hands in her face and cried madly.

"Jack, you've lost! Let her go. Everyone knows that you're a fraud, that you are no real Freedom Fighter, let her go!" Tails said, trying to negotiate with Jack.

"Shut up! I was more deserving of the title of Freedom Fighter then anyone. But when those old coots kept saving the day and left me in their shadow, I could never be the man I wanted to be. I could never make a name for myself…and I almost did it if it wasn't for you meddling kids." Jack said, having lost it completely.

"Being a Freedom Fighter is not about making a name for ourselves, it's about helping people because it's the right thing to do." Tails stated.

"Bullshit. Bullshit. They're not worth it, these people don't deserve protection if they aren't capable of handling themselves. Law of the strongest, kid." Jack said.

"We have a different opinion about what true strength is kid. I thought I had taught you well, but you've learned nothing. Talk about learning, even at my age I can still learn a lot, and this little fox here has taught me you're never too old to fight for what's right. He has more Freedom Fighter spirit in the tip of his tail then the five of you combined." Fleabyte berated them.

"Oh shut up old-timer…it was so easy to break your spirits last time. I can do it again. I'll just blast this woman's head and you'll be once again guilt-filled, broken old men!" Jack said with an insane grin on his face.

"NO!" Shift said as he tackled Jack to the ground, who let go of the woman and the gun shot in the air, hitting no one. Jack kicked Shift off as he said: "You moron, what are you doing? We lost our hostage!" Jack growled.

"You've gone too far Jack. I went along with is because I also wanted to make a name for myself, but not at the cost of any innocent lives! 'Law of the strongest', my ass. I've made an oath as a Freedom Fighter and it's about time I started respecting it." Shift said, finally standing up to himself.

Jack said nothing as he just pulled his gun and shot Shift in the chest, baffling everyone, except the Sandblasters, who didn't care about their teammate apparently. "Smart-ass!" Jack muttered.

"That's it! You're going down Jack!" Tails growled as he bared his fangs, and barely managed to suppress the demon inside. "If so, I'll take everyone down with me!" Jack said as he and the Sandblasters prepared to fight. But it didn't end there as Jack pulled out a remote and pressed a button. Not only the Sandblasters were joined by a group of centaur-like cowboy robots, but a rebuilt Skorps as well.

"I think I kind of lied about Shift being the only technical genius on the team…we had this in case our ruse was up. Now they'll take down every one of you." Jack said with a wicked grin on his face.

"Looks like the town needs us again. Which means we'll kick their cans Wild West style. You with me kid?" Fleabyte asked. "I was born ready. And glad you guys are all back in business." Tails said happily. "Because of you. Now attack!" Fleabyte said as the Sandblasters and the Freedom Fighters engaged in battle.

Tails rushed forwards, only to find the roadrunner known as Jolt to rush at him with remarkable speed, though not as fast as Sonic's, running around the fox and punching him repeatedly. "You can't catch me but I can catch you!" he said in a childish tone. Tails just held out his arm in a fist and the roadrunner ran right into it, knocking the idiot bird back. But then the lizard Tex curled up in a ball and did his version of a Spin-dash, but Tails caught him in his namesakes and tossed him into Jolt. "Freakin' Sonic wannabees!" Tails muttered.

The two Sand-Blasters got out their guns and aimed at Tails, who pressed a button on his belt, surrounding himself in a force field of sorts as the bullets bounced off it. The two tossed the guns aside and rushed in to punch the force field, only for the two idiots to get shocked and knocked out. "Test run of the lightning shield: successful!" Tails muttered.

Fiona had picked up Shift (who was still alive) and dragged him off the battlefield. He handed him over to some people: "Get him medical attention! Now!" she ordered as Shift was carried off. One of the Cow-Centaurs caught up with Fiona and tried to trample her, only for her to jump aside. She then jumped up and rode on it. "Yee-haw! Rodeo!" Fiona said as the Cow-Centaur tried tossing her off, only for Fiona to pull out a dagger and slice it's head off. But it still kept going as it grabbed her and tossed her off him.

"Odd, normally destroying the head always works." Fiona noted. The headless Cow-Centaur pulled out some guns and started firing at her, but jumped aside and ran away to dodge. It ran out of gunfire as it rushed after her. Fiona saw a water tower and got an idea. "Hey you! I think being without a head actually improved your IQ!" she taunted the robot who rushed at her. Fiona cut the supports of the water tower, jumping aside as it fell down and crushed the robot.

Another Cow Centaur had a whip, which was actually an electrically engulfed cable, which it used to lash at Tiara, who dodged by jumping aside. Another whiplash caused the whip to curl around Tiara and shock her, but then something cut the lasso loose. It was Ms. Grit, using her umbrella blade to cut it loose. "You okay, Tiara?" the bird lady asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Tiara said as she got up. The robotic centaur had tossed aside his old whip and grabbed a new one and lashed with it. Ms. Grit opened up her umbrella, which acted like a shield against the lashes. "Now Tiara!" she said; Tiara jumped up, grabbed her staff, and pierced the robot's chest with it, making it shut down.

Avery the bear rushed in anger at Toma-Hawk, who just stood there calmly, dodging at the last second and make Avery trip. Avery growled as he got up and pulled a gun, only to find Toma-Hawk gone. Then he found his gun to be sliced in half by a tomahawk, and the Native American Hawk stood before him. "You're a disgrace!" he told Avery.

"I'm going to crush you." Avery roared as he tossed a punch, only for Toma-Hawk to grab his wrist, and toss the bear over his shoulder, right into a drinking trough. The thing broke when Avery impacted. The bear got up, but he walked around dazed before he fell down again.

Rood charged at the final Centaurbot, as it charged at him. It raised both his fists as it tried striking down Rood. But Rood, despite his age, was strong and blocked with his hammer, and pushed the robot back. He then raised his hammer and struck down the robot with it, instantly reducing it to scrap.

Tori stood face to face with a rebuilt Skorps. It aimed the blaster on its tail at her. Tori looked unimpressed as she morphed her arms into guns: "Mine are bigger than yours!" she bragged. Skorps fired at her, but she flew up and fired, blasting off his tail. "Always the same with rebuild mechs. They break much easier." She stated.

Skorps opened his claws and fired missiles from them, Tori blasting them all with her arms blasters. She then pulled out her propeller blade and tossed it at Skorps, slicing it in half, destroying him again. "That's what I call a split personality. Okay, I need to work on those catchphrases."

Fleabyte stood face to face with Jack. "I'll destroy you old-timer." "I'd like to see you try rookie!" the two charged at each other, Jack launching a punch, but Fleabyte leaned back and dodged, before he punched Jack in the gut. Jack doubled over in pain first, but then he sweep kicked Fleabyte to the ground. He moved up, but from his lying position, Fleabyte kicked Jack in the stomach, before he got up again. Jack rushed in and punched Fleabyte in the face, but Fleabyte clawed his face, hurting Jack.

Both pulled their guns. "Let us finish it, old west style!" Fleabyte muttered. "Gladly." Jack said as they turned their backs towards each other. Each of them now were about to take ten paces before they'd fire at one another. But Jack already turned around after five paces, wanting to launch a cheap shot at Fleabyte. But Fleabyte knew what Jack was up to, and turned around as well, both firing once.

Jack missed, but Fleabyte's shot was dead-on and Jack clutched his eye in pain as his hand and face were now covered in blood. Fleabyte moved towards him and knocked him out with a single punch. "Who's the old timer now?"

Later on, the Sand Blasters (Jack's eye now sporting an eye-patch), covered in pitch and feathers, were brought off to jail. The Wild West Freedom Fighters were once again praised as heroes, and they had Tails and Fiona to thank for it. "We wanna thank you Miles…I mean Tails, for reawakening that flame of justice in my old heart again." Fleabyte complimented.

"And thanks to you, I'm no longer afraid to step in my father's footsteps. I'm his daughter, freedom fighting is in my blood." Tiara complimented.

"Indeed half-pint, you and your comrades sure fired us up again." Rood added.

"Flying Fox, Shimmering Vixen, I apologize, as I was blind and didn't see the true signs of the wind spirits clearly while you did. May this power of you guide you in the future." Toma-Hawk continued.

"If you're ever around the Great Desert again, come by again. I assure you next time you'll see us protecting this town, not those traitors." Ms. Grit finished.

"Hey, it's you who managed to recollect yourselves. I just gave you a push in the back. You really needed it. But you got to remember, that you're not in this alone. You got each other."

"How's Shift actually doing?" Fiona asked.

"He's recovering at a steady pace. As the only one showing a conscience and remorse, he'll be part of the Wild West Freedom Fighters once he's fully healed." Fleabyte replied.

"I kind of enjoyed this adventure, felt like a real gun-slinging hot-totin' cowgirl." Tori stated.

"Hey, before you guys leave, how about a round at the saloon? Lemonade's on me!" Fleabyte suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Tails said as everyone headed for the saloon.

Meanwhile, further away, in the factory that the mysterious cloud being had installed himself, he was busy tinkering on a new robotic body. While at the same time the factory got itself running again and began mass-producing robots, but it were no Egg Pawns, these were humanoid, tall and bulky, black color scheme and dome shaped-helmets with a single red optic.

"My Swatbots are coming along nicely, and once my own body is completed, I'll be ready to work on my next invention, one that will make the Badnik suits completely obsolete. I'll be the undisputed ruler of the world, no questions asked!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	37. The Devil's Gulag I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: THE DEVIL'S GULAG, PART I

Downunda, the Mobian Australia if you will. The center of Eggman's Downunda chapter of his empire lied in the Devil's Gulag, from which his Sub-Boss Crocbot operated. But it's also where another Freedom Fighter group was located. A koala girl, a huge purple Tasmanian Devil, a wallaby, a wombat and a platypus were watching the complex from a distance.

"This is Bill, Guru, what can you say about the security?" the platypus asked over the communicator, to their coordinator Guru Emu.

The latter disliked violence but having a sense of justice and not standing for Eggman's evil, he helped in his own way, and the job as coordinator suited him best. "Security has not dropped since the big guy himself has hit the soil. Still as dangerous as ever." Emu replied.

"We are going in. With Eggman gone, we might use Crocbot's overconfidence to our advantage and free the prisoners. Now Eggman is gone, the people should be free." The koala girl said.

"Barby's right. We do this for the people. And now we'll move out. Okay, Barby, you, me and Trash take the west side. Stu, Walt, you take the east. Guru, count on you to guide us through this." Bill the Platypus said to his team. They all nodded as they split up.

Barby, the koala girl and the Tazmanian devil, Trash snuck with Bill around the west side of the building, staying clear of some Egg Pawns that had a crocodile motive, inspired by their boss Crocbot, the Croc Pawns. Barby snuck up on a few of them and bashed their heads together, scrapping them. She gave a thumbs up to her friends before they moved on. They came across an entrance, but it was locked.

"Allow me!" Trash said as he cracked his fingers and pulled the door from the hinges using his great strength. "Whoa, some muscle…" Barby said with a dreamy look on her face. "After you!" Trash said politely as he bowed and let Barby go first. "Such a gentleman." She said as she moved inside, Trash and Bill behind her.

On the other side, Walt the Wallaby and Stu the Wombat also came across some Croc Pawns as well, Walt grabbing some boomerangs and tossing them at the Pawns, which embedded themselves in their heads and shut them down. They then moved towards a door, Stu picking the lock before they went inside.

The two groups snuck around and regrouped on the inside before they went deeper inside the complex. "Help, somebody help us, I wanna get out!" a voice shouted. "That have to be the prisoners. Let's go get them!" Bill said as he led his team down the corridor.

There, they found a trio of possums in a holding cell, having shouted for help for a while. "Don't worry, we'll get you out. Lemme see, I think I can pick this lock…" Stu said as he took a look at it, but Trash just pulled the cell door open. "Show-off!" Stu muttered. The three possums were relieved and thanked our heroes, muttering "Thank you!" over and over again.

"You're welcome, now let's find the remaining prisoners and get you out of here." Barby stated, but then the possums started to grin evilly as they put their hands on the Downunda Freedom fighters and shocked them. As they slowly lost consciousness, Barby noticed their faces open up and reveal machinery. "Automatons…" she noted before she fainted.

"Dudes? Dudette? Answer me?" Guru's voice said from over the communicator, but the communicator gets crushed under a robotic reptilian foot. It belonged to a huge robotic crocodile: Crocbot. "Welcome to the Devil's Gulag, Freedom Fighters. Though don't let the name deceive you, you'd wish the devil was the warden when I'm through with you!"

One week later, Emu Guru had been left on his own since then, and he couldn't release his friends alone. That's where the Freedom Fighters came in. Bunnie, Antoine and Muttski, with Nicole's handheld with them, had come to his aid. "And then the signal went dead. They are in there." he said panicky.

"Then eet eez up to us to get them out, non? Monsieur Guru, you and us are going in ze Gulag!" Antoine said determined. "I have to go in there, into the fray?" Emu asked. "I 'ave been told you do not like ze fighting, but we need all ze help we can get to get your friends liberté back!" Antoine stated.

"Is Muttski the only one who thinks it's ironic we break into jail instead of out?" Muttski asked. No one replied, as they saw how intensely Bunnie was staring out the window. She had a serious look on her face and she didn't sport the kind warm eyes she normally had.

"Is something up with Bunnie?" Muttski asked. "Ah've got a lot of bad memories about the Devil's gulag. Ah've spent my childhood there trapped between the four walls and inside the fighting tournaments between prisoners Crocbot organized to amuse himself." Bunnie answered.

"You knew we were going in ze Devil's gulag, and you still went along? Mais, mon chèrie, you cannot to zis to yourself. You are strong, non, but why going back to zis place willingly?" Antoine asked.

"Ah've conquered one fear already, it's time to conquer this one as well. Ah'm no scared little girl anymore." Bunnie said seriously.

"Nicole was also in the Devil's gulag, wasn't Nicole? What does Nicole have to say about it?" Muttski asked, turning to the handheld in Bunnie's hand.

"Like her, I got bad memories of this place. But since I have no longer a physical body or a Mobian mind, after facing the two Death Egg Programs, being a being driven mostly by logic now and being digital, I got less to fear of this place then Bunnie." Nicole replied.

"Nicole sure? Nicole is still Mobian at heart after all. It's okay for Nicole and Bunnie to feel fear, maybe Muttski and Antoine should take Emu while Bunnie and Nicole coordinate?" Muttski asked worried.

"No, you'll need me for this one! Those are some very advanced defenses, which only got upgraded after the trap sprang for the Downunda Freedom Fighters, so you'll need me to bypass them." Nicole replied.

"And ya fellas need ma strength, as only yer swords and yer feathers ain't gonna cut it. The others are busy with their own missions, there ain't no time to get replacements, so we're goin'!" Bunnie added.

"I 'ave a terrible feeling about zis, but she is right, we do not have ze temps, we need to move quickly." Antoine said. "I'm not very good out in the field, but the dudes and dudettes trapped in there are my pals, I guess I need to go too." Guru added.

"Glad ya're all into this. Cuz it's gonna get hard!" Bunnie said as she looked back through the window outside.

FLASHBACK

A young Bunnie was in her cell, holding a crying young Nicole, who was still organic. "Why are we in prison? We're no bad girls…" Nicole cried violently. "Don't cry, sugah! Ah'll protect ya! Ah won't let them hurt ya…" Bunnie said. Poor Nicole was not a very confident person, and being put in a position like this was especially hard for her. "I can't do it, Bunnie. I'm not strong like you!" Nicole cried. "Guess ah have to be strong for the both of us then!" Bunnie stated.

Much later we cut to a fighting ring in the courtyard of the prison, where Nicole was huddled up in a corner, as Bunnie stood in front of her, protecting her from the Egg Pawns that were swarming in on them. Despite having little fighting experience, Bunnie has exploited her natural abilities as a rabbit and use her jumping and kicking abilities to knock the Egg Pawns away. The last one was knocked down, and Crocbot (being the one who overlooked it all) clapped. "Well done, not bad for some kids. I sense potential in you. You go back to your cells to recover, you're going to put up a show for me in later fights."

Later on, the two girls were seen at the cafeteria, with the other prisoners. "You put up a great fight for such young ladies." A stranger said to them. The girls looked next to them, seeing an aged white furred bat woman. "I'm Ruby by the way. Ruby Bat." She stated. "A-a-ahm Bunnie, and this is Nicole." Bunnie introduced them.

"You got spunk, protecting your friend like that, even if it's in a fight where it's about survival of the fittest. You are strong. But you lack skill and technique. I can help you survive. If you last, you'll get the chance to escape this dump someday." Ruby stated. "Ya can? Please teach us?" Bunnie asked.

"I can, but only if you promise me two things." Ruby said. "Sure, anythin'!" Bunnie replied. "One: once you get out, please find my daughter, and tell her I love her and I'm sorry I'll never be able to see her again. And second, if you ever do escape, don't bother with me…I'm old and I had my life. But you're young. You deserve a chance to be free." She asked. Bunnie was skeptical. "Do it for Nicole." Ruby stated. Bunnie swallowed her pride and nodded: "Ah'll do it!"

The next few days, weeks, months, when they were allowed out on the courtyard, Ruby had taught Bunnie and Nicole some fighting moves, and ever since then the two girls managed to beat themselves through every battle they were forced in by Crocbot. The fights could be long, grueling and harsh, but the two fought on…but while there was no doubt it wasn't easy, it was harder than one could think.

Bunnie had been tearing Egg Pawns apart and knocking out other prisoners, fighting harshly against the odds, keeping fighting, never stopping getting high on the adrenaline and the feeling of power. She heard someone sneaking up behind her and turned around and punch, only to stop in her tracks as she realized, she nearly had punched Nicole, the latter looking at her baffled. "Oh, I'm so sorry Nicole…ah don't know what came over me…ah nearly punched ya…" she said.

The match had ended shortly after that incident, and Bunnie had talked to Ruby about what happened: "…ah couldn't stop, ah had to keep fightin', there was no good and bad, only fightin' and I became one with it…and the scary part about it was that ah kind of liked it…" she said, close to tears.

Ruby hugged the young Bunnie: "I know…I went there. It's easy to lose yourself, after all this time in here, it's hard to not let things go to your head. But you were strong Bunnie, you held back in time…keep that strength, don't let go of it, you'll need it, Nicole needs it."

"Ah…ah need to keep strong. I can't become weak now…ah must protect Nicole, ah promised her…" Bunnie muttered.

Bunnie then remembered the day she had a chance to escape. One prisoner had managed to make a an explosive using only a fork and a piece of scrap from the battlefield. There was a mass outbreak that day. There was this hole in the wall, the girls ready to step through. Ruby had stayed behind to give them more time, feeling like she at her age wouldn't be able to make a quick escape. But Bunnie stopped in her tracks. "Nicole, ya go ahead, ah'll catch up with ya later! Okay?" Bunnie asked Nicole. Nicole nodded, knowing Bunnie keeps her promises.

Bunnie ran back to Ruby, who barely managed to fend off the Croc Pawns. But Bunnie came in and started kicking and punching around. "What? Bunnie! You promised me that…" Ruby ranted. "Ah promised that, but ah promised to be strong too! Ah've been strong for two, now it's time ah'm strong for three." Bunnie said as she grabbed Ruby's wrist and dragged her along, away from the scrapped Egg Pawns.

However, a single Pawn, legless and broken, but still active, managed to use its last strength to aim it's blaster at the two and fire before it shut down. Ruby saw this and jumped in front of Bunnie, taking the blast, before she fell down in Bunnie's arms. "No! Ah tried to protect you…ah'm sorry I broke ma promise but ah…" Bunnie said sadly. "It's all right…in your place I'd have done the same. But don't go after lost causes Bunnie…go to Nicole, and protect her…and tell my daughter…that I…" and with that, Ruby went limp. Bunnie closed her eyes as she let the body drop.

"Nicole!" Bunnie realized as she went after her old friend. But when she stepped outside the hole blown in the prison walls, she found Nicole to be unconscious, and dragged away by her arms by some Croc Pawns. "No! Nicole!" she shouted as she went after them, only to feel a bump in the back of her head and fall down on all fours. "You've been very naughty girls…you shall be punished…I know how, Eggman needs some 'volunteers for his experiments with cybernetics…" Crocbot said softly before Bunnie lost consciousness…

END FLASHBACK

The foursome, consisting of Bunnie, Muttski, Antoine and Guru (not counting Nicole here) they stuck around the prison. Bunnie held Nicole's handheld up and with a wireless signal, Nicole shut down some basic defenses like searchlights and some electric fences. Bunnie then handed Nicole to Muttski: "Hold her…ah'm at my strongest when I have ma hands free." Bunnie said firmly.

Muttski agreed to hold Nicole, but to himself, Muttski was saying: "Now Bunnie kind of scares me." Bunnie has never been like this before. Bunnie tore open the de-electrified fence and the four stepped through. From the corner of her eye, and to none of the others' awareness, Bunnie saw a glimpse that looked familiar: big, green and metallic. "Ya all go ahead, Guru and Nicole do some hackin', Sugah-Twan and Muttski cover the front, ah'll cover yer backs!" Bunnie instructed.

The trio nodded as they went ahead, and Bunnie at first pretended to follow them, but really she cut back and ran in the direction Crocbot was going. "Now ah'm goin' to get ya!" she thought to herself. It was because of Crocbot she lost everything: her limbs, Ruby and in a way, Nicole…she silently sneaked behind the robotic crocodile, waiting for the right moment.

As the others snuck down the hallways, Muttski couldn't help but to ask Nicole: "Muttski feels there is more to this place then Nicole and Bunnie let on. Muttski knows it were bad times, but Muttski can't understand your pain, cause Muttski wasn't there." he said to Nicole.

"No, you can't Muttski, though you try…it were horrible times. But Bunnie kept strong during all this time. It's something she's known for, it's something she takes pride in: being strong, in every sense of the word. But there are lives at stake, lives that can't be ruined like mine. And that's why I in return have to be strong now, because Bunnie has been strong for me…" Nicole replied.

Muttski then tilted his ears. "Muttski doesn't hear Bunnie's footsteps anymore." Muttski noted. Muttski was wacky, but he wasn't stupid. "Bunnie didn't…Antoine! Take Nicole, Muttski has something to do!" Muttski said as he handed Nicole to the coyote and left.

"Exactly what is going on maintenant?" Antoine asked. "Muttski is preventing Bunnie from making a huge mistake…Listen, I'll tell you the details on the way to the control room, just keep going, but for now let's just say that Bunnie is been chasing some demons from the past."

Bunnie had followed Crocbot, staying clear of his attention and luckily, also from some Croc Pawns, and she had followed him to a final room, where Crocbot stepped through. "He's all alone, and now he's mine!" she thought. She then moved towards the door and kicked it in, and rushed in, aiming her blaster and said: "Come on out ya slimy piece of reptilian…"

But she cut herself off as she noticed she wasn't inside any room, she was in an arena. The door behind her had shut again, only this time it locked itself into place better. In the tribunals around the arena sat countless Croc Pawns and other robotic minions like Wing Dingoes, Kama-Kama's and Saruders.

Crocbot sat on a throne at the top, while a single Croc Pawn with a microphone started speaking: "Welcome ladies and gentlebots! Welcome to the Devil's Gulag's very first special version of the arena tournament, the event known as…CYBERBRAWL!" the robots in the seats cheered.

"Ah don't have time for this!" Bunnie rushed at Crocbot, but an invisible force field had erected above the arena, separating her from the attendants and Crocbot.

"And our first contestant, back into the ring for the first time since long…now stronger and better than ever, Bunnie 'Strongarm' Rabboh…or should we say Rabbot now?" the announcer continued. The crowd cheered again. "And tonight, she'll fight for your amusement against our foulest prisoners, our strongest robots, our most beloved champions. Does she still have what it takes? We'll find out soon enough. Let the battle begin!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	38. The Devil's Gulag II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: THE DEVIL'S GULAG, PART II

Bunnies stood there, in the middle of the arena inside a prison called the Devil's Gulag, the place her childhood was wasted, the place a friend of her died, and the place she failed to protect Nicole from her fate…as the bad memories came back to her more than ever, once again she found herself in the middle of a display of violence that would amuse the robotic minions watching her.

"Meet Bunnie's opponent, he's a killer, he's a savage wild dog, he is a shadow, he's Kage Von Stryker!" the Announcer said as a dingo whose left half was literally cybernetic came into the ring. He seemed to enjoy the cheering he received from the Egg Pawns. "Thank you, thank you…what? I'm going to fight a girl? Is this a joke?"

"It ain't joking! But we don't have to fight. Ah can help you get outta here…" Bunnie suggested. "Why would I want that? I got the fame and the glory, they love me. And I get to punch shit!" Kage answered. Bunnie realize this one has gone delusional. "Ah see you lost yer mind…then sorry for doin' this!" she said as she prepared for combat. "Bring it on, toots!" Kage mocked as he rushed at her.

He swiped with his cybernetic claw, but she ducked under it and uppercut him, sending him flying. "Heh…feisty one, 'ey?" he said as he recovered pretty quickly before he stretched his arm on a cable, grabbing Bunnie's face and slamming her into the opposite wall. But Bunnie tore the claw off her face, and pulled Kage in closer by it, and then punched him real hard and sent him flying in the opposite wall.

Kage now looked rather pissed. "Okay, no more Mr. Nice guy!" he roared as he rushed at her yelling, the two locking hands and tried pushing each other back. Both were evenly matched since they both had cybernetics. But Bunnie had something Kage didn't have. "I've got sumthin' to fight for, while you haven't!" Bunnie said as she tossed Kage to the ground, before she punched him in the chest, creating a crater in the ground, before jumping on top of him, pushing him deeper in the ground and making the crater bigger.

Kage looked dazed for a moment, before he lost consciousness. The Croc Pawns all cheered at her victory. "Ah've played yer game long enough now, Crocbot, now lemme out so I can whoop yer ass!" Bunnie said as she morphed her hand in a cannon and shot at Crocbot, but the blast bounced off the force field and Bunnie jumped back to dodge her own deflected energy blast.

"Oh no you won't, not until my people get bored…and that might take a while. You'll keep fighting and fighting. But hey, remember how you enjoyed it back then? I read your body signals during that time, the rush of adrenaline, the increase of your heartbeat, you loved it, but you didn't want to admit it…" Crocbot taunted.

"Ah didn't, not that way!" Bunnie said as she started blasting the force field with barrages of arm cannon blasts, but they always deflected and Bunnie was forced to dodge them again and again. "Keep lying to yourself…it won't help, cause the next contestant is on his way." Crocbot muttered.

Muttski followed his nose (he's a dog after all) and tracked Bunnie's scent. He came across the door Bunnie had stepped through to fall in the arena trap. He tried prying the door open, but wouldn't budge. "Doesn't work...!" Muttski put his ear to the door and could hear from the other side the announcer commenting on how Bunnie was fighting. "Muttski must get back to the others quickly." Muttski said.

Meanwhile, Antoine took Guru and Nicole to a control room, from where the prison was run, but it was run automatically by a program as Crocbot was watching the show personally. "What Crocbot has put in, can't be as bad as the programs protecting the Death Egg, I should get control of this in no time." Nicole stated. Guru plugged Nicole in and started dialing himself, hoping to make things easier. Antoine blocked the door with a chair as they continued.

Nicole, in the digital realm, found herself confronted by several programs shaped like floating crocodile heads. Nicole grabbed two small data blades and slices them apart in no time. "I almost miss Eggman, his programs at least could put up a challenge. I really hang out around Sonic too much…" she said as she slashed the final croc head apart. She waved her hand to bring up some programs she already unlocked.

One of them was direct video footage from the arena. "So they still have that going on…Bunnie? Guys, you need to see this!" Nicole said as she made the video footage visible to Antoine and Guru. "Sacre Blue, how did she get in there? And what is she doing?" Antoine asked.

"Guess the big croc dude has lured her in…" Guru stated. "This is bad, Bunnie is currently reliving some bad memories this way, and if things get out of hand, she'll lose herself. It nearly happened once." Nicole stated.

"Lose 'erself? What are you talking about?" Antoine asked. "Bunnie was forced to fight hard and to the limit to survive and protect me. They really drove her far, she nearly snapped and lashed out at me once. What if they'll try that again? I know her wounds haven't healed." Nicole explained.

"Then 'elp her! I can't stand to see ma chèrie zis way!" Antoine begged. "It appears the programs running the arena's equipment and security systems are a bit tougher, but I should be able to hack it. Just give me some time." Nicole said as in the digital realm, she found herself confronted by programs that are hybrids of crocs and tanks. There was then some banging on the door of the control room, probably from patrolling minions.

"I vraiment hope we can give you ze time!" Antoine said as he and Guru rushed at the door and put their weight against it, trying to keep the door closed, while Nicole in the computer fought the croc-tank programs. She avoided their energy blasts as she agilly landed on one of them, bent his turret, so that it blasted itself, before jumping up as it shattered itself, and use her data blades to cut down some croc tank programs as she landed.

In the arena, Bunnie had continued fighting opponents. Her current one was a scarlet red Mobian salamander who had robotic arms and a robotic lower jaw, as well as a fuel tank on his back connected to his arms. He used that to shoot streams of fire from his hands. "Burn, burn! That's what Zan wants! Burn!" he said, being another prisoner driven insane by the fighting.

"Zan needs to shut his yap!" Bunnie said as she used her jet boosters to fly up and dodge the stream of flames, then rush at him and deliver a flying punch, knocking him back. He tries to get up and aim his flamethrowers, but Bunnie grabs his hands in hers and crushes them. She then ripped the fuel tank from his back before she punched his jaw, knocking the metal lower jaw off…

She then slammed him into a wall, and repeatedly kept punching Zan, leaving a deep imprint in the wall, and kept punching for a while, even as Zan was unconscious. She got tired and leaned with her hands on her knees, panting heavily as she had scored another victory. Her eyes were dull and she was sweating, and she seemed off…

"She's slowly getting back into it I see…has been a while since I saw that spark in her. She's getting more ruthless as the fights get on, I actually might be on the verge of rooting for her." Crocbut muttered amused.

"And now for the main event, a battle royale! The current champion now must hold her own against an entire team of fighters. Presenting the Downunda Freedom Fighters." The new opponents came into the ring: Barby, Bill, Stu, Walt and Trash, all wearing headbands that allowed Crocbot to control them. How would this turn out?

Antoine and Guru no longer could hold back the hord of Croc Pawns, as they broke through the door, so they started fighting them. Antoine grabbed his sword while Guru picked up the chair to smash the robotic minions. "I was under ze impression you dislike ze violence, non?" Antoine asked. "May be, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to fight. Just prefer to not do it, but there are times where you are forced and…you get the idea." Guru replied as they kept bashing the croc pawns.

Muttski arrived to help the others, ripping the wings of a wing dingo and use them as shields and smashing weapons at the same time, as he said the others: "Guys, Muttski knows where Bunnie is, she…" "She eez at ze arena, I know! Nicole is trying to stop ze fighting!" Antoine explained.

Nicole was just ready finishing the last croc programs as she was putting some bits and bytes of data in different places to get control of the system. She brought up the footage again and saw how Bunnie was fighting the mind-controlled freedom fighters.

Bunnie dodged punches launched by Barby as she punched her back, sending her flying, only to get grabbed from behind in a bear hug by Trash. She headbutted him and he let go as she throws him over his shoulder, knocking him into Bill in the progress. She then got a boomerang to the head, as she was dazed. But she recovered quickly to catch Walt's next boomerang in her hand and crush it, before she punched him too. Stu jumped on her back, but Bunnie dropped on her back, smashing Stu into the ground. The Downunda Freedom Fighters got up again, Bunnie roaring in anger, pumped up from the fighting.

"Oh, I need to do something quickly…maybe I can hack the collars with a wireless signal and…there!" Nicole said as she quickly did as told. The headbands beeped and shattered, returning them back to normal.

"Oof, I'm glad to be able to think again." Bill said in relief. But he was immediately forced to dodge blasts fired from Bunnie's arm cannons as she was firing around wildly. "But I never wanted to run into that." He noted. "It's five to one, we can take her." Barby said. But then their communicators (Crocbot hadn't taken them all away, as Nicole allowed Guru to talk to them: "Don't hurt her dudes! She has suffered emotional scars in the past and now Crocbot is tearing them open again, she's not herself."

"If that's so, then we need to hold back!" Trash noted, as he quickly dodged another blast from Bunnie. "Easier said than done, I think she doesn't feel like holding back." Stu noted. "Just distract them dudes, I got a friend here who can help us out, just hold her back some longer."

"Got it! okay everyone, dogpile her." Bill said as she five Freedom Fighters both jumped on top of Bunnie, pinning her down. "Whatever you do, don't let her…" Bill stated, but Bunnie roared in anger as she tossed of the five Freedom fighters, knocking them in the air, and hit them with her cannons like in target practice, knocking them all out the air and onto the ground.

Bunnie's eyes were red and devoid of what made her Bunnie, gritting her teeth, breathing heavily…she was going completely insane. She moved over to Barby, picked her up by the throat, as the entire crowd of Pawns muttered: "Finish her!" Bunnie was prepared to do so, but then…

The video screens on top of the arena, used for play-by-play and replay action, suddenly sported Nicole's face on it: "Bunnie, stop!" Nicole shouted. Bunnie tilted her confused head in the direction of the screen.

"Muttski has told us of your crazy move. You tried getting after Crocbot…I know the memories that haunted you, they haunted me as well. But they aren't as scary as I remember because every time, I recall you being there, being strong and protecting me. I don't blame you for what has happened to me. They would have gotten us anyway. We would be wandering the desert aimlessly after our escape…Bunnie, please don't lose yourself, don't let it get to you. Be strong." Nicole said.

Nicole then let Antoine have a word: "Bunnie, ma chèrie? Why 'ave you not told me about ze pains from ze past? Why 'ave you kept eet from me? I know you wanted to be strong, but no one can be strong all ze time. Whenever you would feel you were losing strength, you could come to me to lend some…If you 'ave pain, let me take it away, Bunnie!" Antoine begged.

Bunnie shook her head as her face returned to normal. "What am ah doin'?" she realized as she let Barby down. "Ah'm sorry, I didn't know what came over me…" "It's nothing, if I got what your friends said, you have gone through a lot." Barby said.

"No, fight! Fight for my amusement!" Crocbot growled in anger, not happy his games were disrupted. "Ah'm sorry, but ah'm not a fightin' machine! Ah fight to protect, ah'm no longer fightin' to amuse ya!" Bunnie bit back.

Crocbot growled in anger. But it turned into a grin as he said: "You know, I'll just lower the force field and leave you at the mercy of my Egg Pawns, who are dying to make you pay for ruining their amusement." Crocbot wanted to press a button on his throne, but it didn't work. "What the…"

"Sorry, I control everything now!" Nicole's voice sounded again. "What? Gimme the control back!" "Ah-ah-ah! You didn't say the magic word." Nicole said, as she opened the gates, allowing Bunnie and the Dowunda Freedom fighters to get out. At the same time, Nicole had opened every cell door to open and the prisoners to run out in joy and stampede. The heroes joined the crowd of prisoners. Nicole had returned to her handheld, but had left enough programming behind to leave the prison unoperable.

The prisoners stormed out, the Croc Pawns, unable to stop them as the prisoners, so excited to have their freedom back, waltzed over them, and with the security disabled the Egg Pawns couldn't get the prisoners back under control. "Jailbreak!" rang through the air as the prisoners kept shouting it over and over again.

The crowd had made it outside, as they ran off, and Nicole had programmed the prison's security system to shut itself completely off once everyone has gone out, so Crocbot and his troops were trapped inside. "Drat, that bunny bitch got away. They think they can keep me inside, this is my prison, I'm the warden, I'm the boss."

"Self-Destruct initiated. This place will blow in sixty seconds." A computerized voice said. "Oh crud!" Crocbot moaned. "This was Cyber-Brawl, thank you and good night, forever…" the announcer moaned. And just like that, the prison blew up, taking down all of Eggman's robots with it.

Everyone cheered, that the place where nightmares were born were gone. The prisoners were free, the cyborgs Bunnie had fought would be committed to a mental asylum and the freedom fighters of Downunda were complete again. "I can't believe you actually went on a field mission to save us!" Bill complimented Guru. "I needed some encouragement, but I couldn't let my friends rot in there." Guru replied.

Bunnie sighed as she turned to her friends: "I wanna thank ya all for savin' me. Otherwise I'd be another mindless fightin' machine. I wanna thank ya." She said. "It's the least we could do. You thought us to be strong, the best way to repay you was to remind you of that." Nicole replied. "Oh Nikki-gal, if only you had a body I'd could hug…" Bunnie said.

"You can hug moi!" Antoine said. "Don't mind if ah do…I'm sorry sugah-Twan. I have told ya of my past, but I left sum important chapters out. I knew I should've trusted ya, but I didn't want to look weak…" she said. "It's all right ma chèrie. Just don't forget that in ze future, if you feel like losing your strength, I'll lend you mine." Antoine said as the two embraced and kissed.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaww!" all the bystanders said. Muttski moved in front of them: "Okay people, give the two some privacy! Get out, scram! You have no life to rebuild, or some Freedom to enjoy? SCRAM!" Muttski said as he guided the escaped prisoners away. "Bunnie and Antoine have some time together, Muttski, Nicole and Dowunda Freedom Fighters will take care of the rest." Muttski said as he took Nicole's handheld and left the two for some time alone.

A seriously damaged Crocbot, who had lost both his arms, his tail and half his face, managed to crawl out of the remains of the Gulag, miraculously active, but barely. But he only took a few steps as he saw a flying probe approach him. "Huh?" he asked.

"Hello Crocbot. I see you have allowed the Gulag to be destroyed and the prisoners to escape." A voice said from the probe. Crocbot recognized the voice and sounded scared: "No! You're supposed to be dead…"

"I'm very much alive. But you, not so much. I'm going to make my return, completely reimagined. To erase the tracks of my former persona completely, I need to dispose of every trace, that includes you." the voice from the probe said.

"No, please, give me another chance!" "Bye-Bye!" the probe shot a laser from it's front, slicing Crocbot clean in two, finally shutting him down forever. The probe flew off in the distance.

Meanwhile, at the factory, the smoke being, being the source of the voice, had completed a body for himself, but it was shrouded in the shadows, only it's red eyes visible. "Now I just need to wait till the Freedom Fighters dispose of the remaining sub-bosses. Anything related to my previous incarnation must be erased, so I can start of freshly…"

He then turned around to his army of Swatbots, and then he turned to a trio of new minions. They were in suspended animation for now, but not for long. The villain snapped his fingers and the trio sprung to life.

The first two were small hovering robots, one being based around an orb, the other around a cube. The third looked human, like a female Overlander girl in a black bodysuit and short red hair. Her eyes showed however she wasn't human, as streams of data were visible on her retinas.

"SA-55 Orbot, How can I be of service master?" the orb robot asked.

"Yee-haw, it feels good to be runnin'! Or my name ain't SA-56 Cubot, no sir!" the cube robot said in a cowboy accent.

"About time you woke me, being dormant for so long is such a pain in the neck." The Overlander android girl said as she cracked her neck. "But oh well, Infiltration Unit EL-153, ready for action." She replied.

"Excellent. Now, while the Freedom fighters are busy erasing all of Eggman's work, it is time for a new ruler to take its place, and they'll soon find out who it is. But first I need to set up a few things for my arrival, and you three need to help me on that." The villain said growling.

TO BE CONTINUED


	39. Mishap in Mercia I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: MISHAP IN MERCIA, PART I

Mercia was a kingdom in Eurish (Mobian Europe), somewhere were England should be. Mercia was quite medieval in customs and culture, or it used to be until Eggman invaded and the Mercians were forced to adapt really quickly. Luckily some help from outside forces helped them and the kingdom made a stand against Eggman. Though the Mercians were driven back to the forest and the castle was now ruled by a Sub-Boss, the Mercian Freedom Fighters have come closer and closer to retaking the castle in response to Eggman's demise.

"Mercian Freedom Fighters, attack!" Rob O' the Hedge, leader and top archer of the Mercian group of Freedom Fighters ordered his comrades. He was a teal hedgehog with green wearing brown archer gear. He loaded his bow with arrows and fired them at several humanoid robotic minions.

Note these minions were not Egg Pawns, or any palette swap, no this sub-boss had his very own group of robotic minions, the Troopers, which where humanoid and were mostly silver in purple armor. They sparked and exploded once their heads were pieced by Rob's arrows.

A black cat girl in purple robes raised her hands and puttered: "Dniw!" and a strong gust of wind blew, creating a tornado which trapped the Troopers and sent them flying in the air, before it died out and the Troopers were flung everywhere and shattered to pieces on the ground. This was Ebony, the sorceress of the group.

A green canary girl who had her hair hanging over left eye grabbed a couple of guns and started shooting at the Troopers around her, dodging their laser fire by rolling to the side before she unleashed her own gunfire at the Troopers. She grabbed out a device and tossed it at a Trooper, latching onto the robot, who soon started firing at his comrades, before the device self-destructed. She was Tekno, the inventor expert of the Mercian hord.

A grey Mobian rabbit with black eyes, who fought with a bo staff. This was Lil' John Lightfoot, expert hand to hand combatant. He used his bo staff to whack at the Troopers, scrapping them. He jumps up thanks to his rabbit physique and as the trusted down, he impaled a Trooper on his staff, before spinning around on the pole and kick off several Badnik Troopers.

A Mobian Pig in Friar's tunic just stood there laid-back as the Troopers came at him. He had a glad of lemonade in one hand and a huge drumstick in another. He casually dodged the punches of some Troopers by leaning forward or backwards, as one got close, he poured some lemonade over him, shorting him out, before he whacked another with the huge drumstick, before taking a huge bite out of it and drinking the rest of his lemonade. This was Oscar Lewis, also known as Porker, or Friar to his friends.

The Troopers were no match for the Freedom Fighters in combat, but they made up for that in numbers. For every Trooper they destroyed, another one would take its place. The heroes were getting swarmed, until several projectiles, arrows and darts flew through the air and embedded them in the robots, and destroyed them. "Rob, did you do that?" Lil' John asked. "No, I was busy with some other troopers." Rob answered.

They looked around and saw two familiar faces showing up. "Hi cuz! Need any help?" Amy asked joyfully to her cousin. Lily stood at her side, on top of her hoverboard. "Shall we stand here or are we going to trash these bots?" Lily asked. "My pleasure!" Amy said as she loaded more arrows and she and Lily joined the fray. The Troopers were now driven back now there were reinforcements, and even had to completely retreat. This was another victory for Mercia.

The Mercian Freedom Fighters cheered for the two. "Glad that you're back, princess." Ebony said. "Please, for the gazillionth time, don't call me Princess." Amy sighed. "What if I call you 'gorgeous'?" Lil' John asked. "We're not dating anymore, so no!" Amy noted. Lily smiled at this.

"Tough luck, Johnny." Tekno teased. "So, where is Shortfuse? Shouldn't he be with you?" Amy asked. Shortfuse was a Mobian squirrel whose real name was Shorty, but he got his nickname due to the fact he had a short fuse, as well as being the demolitions expert. The happiness vanished of their faces, and Tekno, being Shorty's girlfriend, was close to tears.

"He got captured a few days ago, we haven't found a trace of him. We don't know if he's alive or not." Rob said sadly. Tekno was crying, Porker putting an arm around her to comfort her. "Have you looked in Brutus' castle?" Amy asked. Brutus was the sub-boss of the region.

"No, we haven't been able to invade the castle yet, but after gaining some victories in the aftermath of Eggman's demise, we are getting close to develop a plan to invade it. You two just come in time to be part of it." Rob stated.

"Then let's get started on that plan already. We can't let Shortfuse alone can we? After we get some rest and food that is…me and Lily have been on the road for a long time." Amy said. "Okay, just come with us pri…" Porker wanted to say, but Amy let out a big "A-hum!" "I mean, Amy." Porker corrected himself.

Back at the Mercian Freedom HQ, the Freedom Fighters were eating, but while they were eating they got over some plans. "Getting in the castle won't be easy, Brutus is smart and the tactical genius he is he probably knows we'll attempt something soon." Rob informed the remaining Freedom Fighters.

They saw how Amy was playing with her food, she didn't look hungry at all. "What's up Amy? You don't like it? It used to be your favorite." Tekno asked. "I'm not fond of this fancy food anymore…while being with the Freedom Fighters of the Emerald Islands, I got used to eating other stuff like pizza and sandwiches, just simple food." Amy groaned.

"I'm not sure if the cook knows how to make those things…" Ebony noted. "I'll make it myself later. One of my new friends, a wacky but lovable guy named Muttski, taught me a little about cooking." Amy replied. "I'm not sure the cook will approve of the princess making her own food." Ebony added.

"Like I care. I hate being treated as a princess, while in a time like this my title holds no value anymore, but some people, in particular the former higher upper class, don't seem to realize that. They still hope when this is all over that they get out back on top and everything will be back as it was: I'll be the future ruler, they get their luxury and riches back, and the commoners have to work hard and pay taxes while having little left…" Amy said sadly.

"And you don't want that?" Porker asked. "I want the people to be free, but not that things go back the way they were. You see, my friends told me how the political system in their nation works. Their leader is elected, not born in a royal family. The leader also doesn't demand the people to listen to him, it's the opposite; he listens to the people and takes care of them. He doesn't stand above them. He is a man of the people." Amy explained.

"That sounds ideal. But will the higher class approve of this?" Rob asked. "Like I care. They always talked nonsense in my head of us being superior and that the commoners are lowlifes, which I refused to believe. I was pressured into wearing those stupid dresses and act all girly, but no more. Once the time comes for me to resume my royal duties, I'll disband the monarchy and insert the democracy. That way, my people can truly be free." Amy said determined.

"I think you took the right decision by joining those other freedom fighters. In this place, where you're boxed up between the borders of your status as a princess, you could have never bloomed as you are now." Ebony noted. "She sure has." Lil' John said as he checked out Amy's curves, only for Ebony to turn his chair in a puddle of water and Lil John fell down.

"Yeah, I'm glad I got some time away. The Emerald Island Freedom Fighters are the greatest bunch, the best of the best. And they're such a close bunch, they're like family…and it's like they adopted me to be part of that family. Don't get me wrong, you bunch are my friends, and you are my family too Rob, but…" Amy gleefully explained.

"We understand. And you Lily, how did you fare with the other freedom fighters?" Rob replied. "I had…a bit more trouble fitting in. Mostly because I was worrying sick about Amy all the time. But it appears, she never needed me at all. I was just there to keep an eye on her, but she didn't needed to be looked after." Lily answered.

"I'll always need you Lily. Not as a bodyguard, but as a friend. You're the one who was willing to go with me, you've been my close friend through it all." Amy assured her. "Ow shucks." Lily said as she blushed from the compliment.

"I notice you always blush when Amy compliments you, but not when any of us do so." Tekno whispered to Lily. "Really? I don't notice…what's it to you, it just feels good to hear a compliment." Lily replied back. "But why blush from Amy?" Tekno wondered. "Guess Amy's sort of special…I feel at ease with her." Lily answered. "Maybe she is a bit too special to you?" Tekno asked suspiciously. "Er…what was the plan again?" Lily asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah…we got a little sidetracked. Now, to get inside the castle, we need to do something that is unexpected. Something a smart guy like Brutus can't anticipate. He'll go crazy if things don't go as he had planned so we have to play on that weakness." Rob stated.

Later that night, the Mercian Freedom fighters had retreated to their beds, ready to sleep. Lily got up after she got thirsty and went out to get a glass of water. After she got her glass of water, she returned to her room and was surprised to find something lying on her pillow. It was small circular object, looking like a compact mirror.

She opened it and saw it was a communicator of sorts. Inside it, the face of a robotic being appeared, in bronze armor. "Helly Ms. Bluebird." It said. "Brutus! But how? This place was supposed to be a secret. How…and why haven't you destroyed this place yet?" Lily asked surprise.

"The only reason this place hasn't fallen yet is because I have a master plan, and I need your friends alive for that. But less about that, and more about you…I know everything about you Lily Bluebird, I've studied you ever since you left Mercia. You used to be part of the Battle Bird Armada right?" Brutus asked.

"If you try to blackmail me, it won't work! Amy knows about my past and she's fine with it. And while the Mercian Freedom Fighters don't know, I'm sure they won't mind me if I tell them, as anyone who Amy approves off, they do too!" Lily bit at Brutus.

"Oh, but will they approve of your lust for the princess? Never thought I'd find that out, do you?" Brutus asked menacingly. Lily went pale as she heard that. "Y-y-you wouldn't!" Lily said panicky.

"I will…you know the Mercians, they have a rather medieval mindset, and your 'unnatural' sexuality might not be approved off. And Princess Amy, she wouldn't even be able to look at you anymore. She, the one you live for. And without her…you'll be nothing." Brutus growled with amusement in his voice.

Lily felt tears coming down her eyes. Her sexuality is always something that has earned her mockery, neglection and pain in her life. And she couldn't tell Amy, the girl she loved so dearly. She'd lose her if she knew about her. "W-w-what do you want?" she asked.

"I know your friends are planning something to overthrow me. I know they have a plan. But it won't matter, cause I have a plan of my own, and if you don't want me to spill the beans, you are going to be part of it. But no worries, Princess Amy and the others won't be harmed, as I said I need them alive…" Brutus explained.

"You disgust me." Lily groaned. "I don't care less, as long as everything comes into place. Now listen, this is what you need to do…" Brutus stated.

The next day, the heroes planned to attack and storm the fortress in clear daylight, and attack directly. It's something unexpected, something that normally would throw Brutus off. Lily looked nervous. "Lily, you okay?" Amy asked. Lily hung down her head a bit, but then recovered: "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…I got a bit of a bad feeling about this." Lily said. "Don't be, if everything goes according to plan, everything should be all right." Amy said.

"If you say so…" Lily said, trying to hide her sadness. But the Freedom Fighters didn't notice that since they were focused on the mission. Brutus' Troopers patrolled the castle grounds, the heroes ready to attack.

"Okay, you remember the plan; split up, divide attention and then storm in! Now go!" Rob ordered. Amy, Lily, Tekno and Ebony went in one direction, Rob, Lil' John and Porker headed for another one. They immediately started drawing the attention of the Troopers by pelting them with arrows and destroying some. "Okay, got their attention, keep going!" Rob ordered.

They had drawn the attention towards themselves and now probably nearly every Trooper in the castle was after them, but that was the intention. In the skirmish Lily and Tekno snuck off. "You know what to do?" she asked Lily. "Sigh…yes." Lily replied.

The canary and the bluebird snuck off and entered from behind into the castle, where some Troopers had stayed behind, only for them to quickly destroy them with their guns and darts. They then snuck across the corridors, and entered through a secret passageway. Brutus may own the castle now, but he hasn't found all the secrets of the castle, something the Mercian Freedom Fighters did know.

They travelled through the secret passageway, which led to the throne room of the castle. The exit was right behind the throne. The two girls saw a tall figure sitting on the throne. Tekno had a smirk on her face as she got the drop on the figure with her gun, aimed at his head: "It's over Brutus, I got you at gunpoint, you won't be fast enough to react, you can't outspeed a bullet." Tekno said.

But then she found the figure's head fell off…it was a decoy. "Oh really?" a voice said behind them as something grabbed them by their waists. The Mercian Sub-Boss Brutus held both bird girls in his hands. "I outsmarted you yet again. I admit this direct attack was unexpected but I proved myself superior once again." He then turned to Lily and whispered: "Well played, my pet." Lily shuddered and cried as he said that.

"Now to get the rest of your friends…and I already got the perfect guy for the job." Brutus said as a Badnik walked in. But this one looked different from the ordinary Badnik. It was bulkier, and the suit wasn't a form-fitting nanite suit, making it look less Robian-like. But the squirrel-like tail shape showed who it was.

"Shorty? Is that you? It's me, Tekno!" Tekno said desperately as she tried reaching out for him, but she was stuck in Brutus' grip. "It's no use, canary girl. He has fallen victim to my custom made Cybernik suit. Unlike the Badnik suits, it isn't connected to the Central Badnik Battery. It has its own power source, it doesn't obey to Eggman, only to me. They'll be the future, they are going to be what will seal my spot as the ruler of the world. Cybernik, go get the Mercians." Brutus explained. The Cybernik saluted as he flew out the castle on his master's orders.

The Mercian Freedom Fighters were fighting some Troopers outside, and they had already trashed most of them, as they noticed something flying towards them. "Hey, what's that?" Porker asked as he saw the flying object approach, before it tackled him and knocked him out before he could react.

They took a good look at the Cybernik as it landed. "Does he look a little like Shortfuse to you?" Rob asked as he aimed his bow and arrow at it. "I think it is him, he wears one of those Badnik suits." Lil John noted.

"It looks different then a normal Badnik suit. Maybe this one is vulnerable to my magic." Ebony said as she launched a spell at the Cybernik, but it bounced of his armor. "Guess not." Ebony said before the Cybernik moved in with great speed and knocked her out with a punch.

"Ebony! Take this!" Rob fired an arrow at the Cybernik, who caught it in his hands and snapped it in half, before moving in and punched out Rob as well. This only left Amy. "Shorty, I don't want to do this…but you leave me no choice!" Amy said as she rushed at him and tries whacking him with her bow, but the Cybernik whacked her with her tail, sending her flying.

She got up and tried launching some punches and kicks at him, but he dodged them all, before he grabbed Amy by her throat and shocked her unconscious. He then picked up the Freedom Fighters and dragged them inside.

There the rest, Lily and Tekno lay there, tied up and gagged, while the tied up and gagged remaining Freedom Fighters of Mercia were laid down next to them. Shoftfuse bowed down to Brutus, as the robotic general smirked and muttered: "Well played, but you can't outsmart me. I have plans for the likes of you…"

TO BE CONTINUED


	40. Mishap in Mercia II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY: MISHAP IN MERCIA, PART II

The Mercian Freedom Fighters woke up to see themselves strapped to chairs, and they found themselves to be in the throne room. They noticed a few things, like decorations, an altar and such…Brutus was there, with a smug grin on his face. "Had a nice sleep, Mercian Freedom Fighters he asked smugly.

"Brutus…" Rob growled. "What's with this place?" Tekno asked. "Isn't it obvious? It's a wedding." Brutus growled delighted. The heroes eyes were wide as they were baffled. "WHAT?"

"Yes, you didn't hear me wrong. You see, I've fought hard to conquer this kingdom in name of my master. But now he's gone, I believe it's my turn to have a chance at domination. However, first I have to keep the kingdom I fought hard to protect. But the problem is: this kingdom is taken by force, which means that people are always going to fight to get it back. But there is a way to honestly earn the kingdom…" Brutus said as two Troopers dragged in Amy, in a wedding dress, tied up and gagged.

"You're going to marry her? You're a machine, that's so wrong!" Rob stated. "I know, that's why I have someone filling in. (snaps finger)." A Mobian snake slithered in, dressed in a tuxedo. "You remember Lord Mordred Hood? He used to be of the upper class until the day Eggman invaded. He lost everything like most high-placed individuals." Brutus stated.

"She's speechless I see, fine quality in a woman." Lord Hood said amused at the tied up Amy, who kicked him in the stomach, making the serpent double over in pain. "Tie up her feet as well, you buckets of bolts!" Brutus ordered his men. He then turned back to the heroes: "You know, one of Hood's servants overheard the Princess when she was thinking of instating a democracy in Mercia…which didn't go well with Lord Hood."

"It would mean everything my family and lineage stood for would be totally ruined." Lord Hood added. "Your family only got rich by sucking the people dry of their hard earned gold and suppress them while you sit down on your lazy asses and enjoyed your life of luxury." Lil John stated. "Matter of opinion." Hood flat out said.

"But back to the wedding…once Lord Hood marries the Princess, she becomes queen, and he'll be king. And once he's king, he'll grant me the title of Royal Advisor and diplomatic immunity. He'll be the figurehead and enjoy life of a rich boy while I'll be the real ruler. And this way, the Freedom Fighters can't fight me anymore, since I got law by my side." Brutus said.

"Dude, you kidnapped her essentially and you admitted your evil plans to us, how is the law going to cover that?" Porker pointed out. "I'll make sure that once this is all over, there will be no witnesses. And then there's nothing anyone can do to stop me." Brutus replied.

"Let's get this over with, shall we? I'm ready to become king…and while this wedding is for diplomatic purpose, I kind of like what I see, I think I can get more out of this wedding then I hoped." Hood said, licking his lips with his forked tongue as he looked lustfully at Amy.

"Amy will never say 'I do' of her own choice." Tekno stated. "Not if I threaten with the lives of her friends. You'll be thrown in the dungeons, but kept alive as a leverage, to ensure she remains part of the plan. But you'll be hidden away from the outside world, so there is no one to testify against me, so I remain in charge." Brutus said smiling.

Brutus then smiled as he moved to Lily, who has been silent through the whole ordeal. He put his finger under her chin and raised her eyes to his level: "And I all got to thank it to this little birdie. People have dark secrets, and if you exploit them in the right way, they become such easy puppets."

"Dark secrets? What are you talking about?" Rob asked. "She has kept several things from the rest of you. Why? Because she fears rejection. I used that to my advantage, I knew about your plan to attack me directly and catch me off guard. Because of her. I promised not to harm you and to keep silent about her in return. And because I feel generous, I will honor that bargain. It fits in the plan anyways." Brutus stated.

"So, when are we going to get started, I see my bride is really anxious…" Lord Hood said as he looked at Amy, who looked angry but also quite scared. "Just a few moments, you impatient Mobian. I want to see the reactions on the Mercians' face." Brutus said, wanting to see the looks on their faces about Lily's betrayal.

However, he was surprised to see that their faces were locked in a smirk, no angry or sad looks, no hurt looks directed to Lily, they were just smirking. "What is going on? Aren't you going to shout at her, be mad at her, or something?" Brutus asked. "Nope!" they all said. "Nope? She betrayed you to me!" Brutus growled.

"Actually…I didn't. Helping you or telling them my secrets, it would only lead to the same thing: rejection. So I picked my poison and told them the secrets I've kept myself. If I am going out, then I'm not going out a traitor." Lily explained.

FLASHBACK

The morning right after Brutus has contacted her, Lily turned to the Mercian Freedom Fighters. With a heavy heart, yes, but she was no rat, and if she had to leave afterwards, so be it. "Guys, there are some things I need to discuss with you…" Lily said, as she pulled out the communicator Brutus has left her. "Brutus has contacted me. He knows the location of our hideout, I don't know how but he does. But he needs us alive, and he expects us to attack him at this moment…and he wants me to be part of his plan." Lily explained.

"Part of what plan?" Rob asked. "He wants to blackmail me into betraying you. I have some secrets. Some few know, others which no one knows. He'd threaten to expose these to you if I don't work with him. But since in either scenario I'll get the short end of the stick, it's better if I tell them to you myself. Even if you think less of me, I won't be going out like a rat." Lily explained. "Think less of you? For what?" Ebony asked.

"First…I don't come from a faraway country conquered by Eggman. I used to be part of the Battle Bird Armada, a group of avian Mobians with similar goals to Eggman: conquest and destruction. I ran away from it all, not wanting to be part of it anymore. The only one amongst you who knew was Amy." Lily explained.

"You are afraid of admitting that? Whoever you used to be, you're no longer that person, you are one of us, you're our friend, you've watched over our Princess like a loyal subject, you deserve our respect." Rob stated.

"I'm not afraid of anyone knowing that…there is a darker and deeper secret I have, and one even Amy doesn't know…" Lily said, as she was close to breaking down to tears. "What can be so bad then?" Amy asked.

"I'm…not into men. I go for the same gender…" Lily said, softly but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Huh?" Lil' John asked confused. "It means she's lesbian, dolt!" Tekno said to John.

"I can't believe it…" Rob stated. Lily felt it coming. "…that you thought we were that prejudiced. It's not because Mercia was stuck in the Middle Ages, we were too. Why would you be afraid of hiding that from us, we're your friends." Rob added. Lily had never expected this reaction.

"Yeah, it's not like you're in love with the princess…" Lil' John stated. Lily blushed and turned around, while Tekno slapped the back of the rabbit's head. "Ouch, why did you…oh, she really is in love with Amy?" John realized.

"That's why I was so afraid. I thought that if Amy knew, she wouldn't want to be around me anymore. I know that I can never be more to her then a friend, but things would get too awkward between us if she'd know. So…I guess that once our mission's over, I think I need another Freedom Fighter team to be part off. I can't work with Amy this way anymore." Lily explained further.

"Lily…I got something to admit too. I knew of your sexuality for a while now." Amy admitted. Everyone looked up surprised. "You did? But…how…since when?" Lily asked. "Ever since I broke up with Lil' John…and I'm sorry. I tried to protect you. I know you're not really confident and such. I wanted you to be spared from the prejudice people have. And I'm also sorry I fawned over Sonic in front of you…had no control over my hormones, damn puberty." Amy answered.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Lily asked. "Because I don't want you to leave. You've been such a good friend to me, why would you walk away from that?" Amy answered. "Because I'll always want more, Amy. I tried to suppress my urges to do my duties, but I can't do it forever. No girl has ever come close to you and…we can't go on this way, it would put too much strain on us. Especially since you don't swing that way." Lily explained.

"I actually go both ways." Amy flat out said. Everyone once again was baffled by this statement. "Whoa…that's a lot to take in." Lil John said as he grabbed his chest. "You were afraid to admit it, but you did. And now you've come out for it, I guess it's time for me to do the same. I also hid it, because I was afraid my people would look down on me as a princess. But since I don't want to stand above them, but amongst them, I'm no longer afraid to say it." Amy stated.

"But…where does this fit in for us. You still want to be friends after all, something I can't do." Lily said. "Then let's become more." Amy said as she moved towards Lily, cupped her cheek and planted her lips on her beak. Lil John had a nosebleed as the others looked on awkwardly, but their faces soon turned into warm, kind smiles.

As Amy broke her lips from Lily's, the bluebird had a sort of dazed look to her. "This can't be true, I'm dreaming…someone pinch me." She said. Porker moved in and pinched her. "OUCH! Not that hard. But thanks, now I know this is real. Oh Amy, I…" Lily said, but Amy put her finger on her beak: "Don't talk, just enjoy. I'm yours now." The two then embraced happily.

Lily and Amy broke the hug, as Lily turned to Rob and said: "I know she's your cousin, and I know it might seem weird, but…" "I know what you try to say. I approve of Amy's choice. It's sometimes not always what we expect to be, but if it brings Amy happiness, I'm okay with it." Rob stated.

"We all are." Porker assured them. "Love is something pure and simple, and doesn't need to be thought about too much." Tekno stated. "Er…yeah, what they said." Lil' John said.

"Not to spoil the fluffiness, but I suddenly think of something. How did Brutus deduct the hiding place of our HQ?" Ebony stated. "There has to be a mole, there is someone who has been passing info to Brutus. None of us, but someone who has everything to gain, but nothing to lose." Rob added.

"I think I can know how we can expose the mole, while at the same time score a victory over Brutus. I hope you guys haven't skipped acting lessons since we were gone." Lily said.

END FLASHBACK

"So that's how we came up with this plan. I pretended to hand you the info you needed, while it was covering up our real plan. You thought I was this insecure Brutus? You'd be right a few months ago, before we left, but I have grown. And now we are going to put a stop to it!" Lily stated.

"I must admit, it was pretty clever, but you still are all tied up here. What plan could you have?" Brutus stated. "Oh simple. Ebony?" Lily stated. One of the Metal Sonic troopers said: "Tca eht pord!" and it transformed into Ebony, while the tied up Ebony on the chair faded away.

"Duplication and disguise spells. I have been training hard on those lately. And now…Sdneirf ym esaeler!" Ebony stated as with a magic spell she released the rest of the heroes, including Amy. "Reag ruo revocer!" Ebony shouted out, and the weaponry of the Freedom Fighters came flying down the castle and rejoin their wielders. Now they were ready to kick butt.

Brutus was literally fuming, as in anger his head smoked. "No, it was supposed to go all according to plan. Troopers, attack!" Brutus roared, ordering his troopers to attack. The Cybernik also joined them in the charge.

"I hope this thing Amy brought helps." Ebony said as she grabbed a Power Ring Amy brought along form her magical bottomless purse. She tossed it at Tekno, who jumped up and grabbed it in mid-air, before she jumped on Cybernik's back and put the ring over his head.

"Argh!" the Cybernik said as his eyes turned from red to blue. "Huh? Where am I? I remember Brutus and…why am I in a freakin' robot suit?" Shortfuse asked. "Shorty, you're okay!" Tekno said, overjoyed to have her boyfriend had. "Can someone tell me what has happened?" Shortfuse asked. "We'll do that later, but first, can you help us destroy some troopers?" Tekno asked. "Sure thing, let's see what this suit can do!"

Shortfuse and Tekno took their blasters and started shooting around, destroying the Troopers by the dozens. "Awesome! If I wasn't stuck in this, I'd love this suit!" Shortfuse pointed out.

Rob and Amy both loaded their bows with arrows, and with their impeccable aim they pierced the heads of the Troopers with their arrows, destroying them. "I see you took my training to heart." Rob noted to Amy. "You're a good teacher cuz!" Amy said as they started whacking the Troopers with their bows.

"Dnaskciuq otni roolf eht nrut." Ebony said as the floor under the Troopers' feet turned into quicksand and they sank away, up until their heads were left stucking out the ground, while Porker and Lil John smashed the heads.

Lord Hood tried to silently slither out of the scene, but Ebony said: "Pu mih eit!" and ropes appeared out fo nowhere to wrap up the snake lord. "No, I would be restored to glory, I would be king, I would be…" "Mih gag!" the second of Ebony's spells tied Lord Hood's jaws together, shutting him up.

Lily jumped on her hoverboard, grabbed a decorative sword of the wall and rushed at Brutus, who with quick reflexes pulled out his own sword and blocked the swipe. He swiped back, but Lily jumped up to dodge and lands back on her board, quickly grabbed some darts and tossed them at Brutus.

Brutus blocked the darts with his sword, but this distraction allowed Lily to disarm Brutus, before she swiped again. But Brutus caught the sword in his left hand, while he plucked Lily of her board by the throat with her other hand. "You ruined my plan, and I had carefully planned it out. I don't like it when things don't go according to plan, but that doesn't mean I can't improvise. I'll improvise snapping your neck!" he growled.

"Nobody touches that bird but me!" Amy said as she had her bow and arrow aimed at Brutus.

Brutus held Lily in front of him. "I heard you never miss…can you hit me, without hitting Lily?" Brutus mocked. Amy looked hesitant. "Don't worry about me, I trust you. I'll be fine…" Lily barely managed to bring out, as she was still hanging by her throat from Brutus hand.

Brutus chuckled. "Even if you hit me, I'm made of Megatal, you can't destroy me with a puny arrow." "Let's worry about one thing at the time." Amy said as she aimed, carefully looking at Brutus and Lily.

Amy fired her arrow. Lily managed to pull a feather dart from her glove, and pierce it in the joint of Brutus arm, making him let go of her as his arm sparked. He lost sight of Lily as he had concentrated on Amy's arrow, and then lost sight of the arrow as Lily had pierced him, and soon found the arrow piercing through his chest, and shoot right through him.

"No…I'm made from Megatal, enforced with protection against magic! No substance, magical or not can pierce it." Brutus moaned as he sparked, standing on his last legs. "The tips of my arrows are made of Megatal too. I'm afraid you're done for." Amy stated.

"No, this wasn't supposed to be…part of the plan!" Brutus said as he shut down, fell down and exploded due to the pierced power core Amy had hit, and with that the Sub-Boss was done for.

With him gone, the Troopers shut down, and so did the Cybernik suit. This way, Tekno managed to pry it open and pull Shorty out. Since the Cybernik suit wasn't made from adaptive nanites, it was far easier to remove. Shorty, a short brown squirrel with blue eyes as they could see now, was overjoyed and kissed his girlfriend Tekno.

Amy moved towards Lily, who held her own sour throat. "You knew I'd be fine when you fired that arrow?" Lily asked. "I did, you were always one to think quickly on your feet." Amy replied.

"Mercia is free now…which means you'll really give up your title as a princess?" Lily asked. "Indeed. No longer there will be a leader who stands above his people and gives orders. Now a leader will be chosen to represent the people and act upon their wishes. Besides, I'll have more time for my friends, and my beloved this way." Amy replied.

"You might no longer be a princess now, but you'll always be the princess of my heart. Say, that wedding dress looks good on you, maybe we can put it to use one day?" Lily said. "Maybe, but it's ripped you see, I had to rip the bottom half to maneuver better. Yes it can be repaired, but we're a bit too young, let's just enjoy ourselves for now." Amy reacted. The two young girls kissed again, the other Mercian Freedom Fighters saying "Awwww!"

"Dude, is there something I missed?" Shortfuse asked baffled.

TO BE CONTINUED

EXTRA

EL-153 snuck around a building. She snapped her fingers and switched holographically from black bodysuit into lab coat and walked in. She went unrecognized by the other scientists as she walked in the lab. Security protocols like eye scan and handprint scan were bypassed as she changed the shape of her eyes and hands to gain access.

She grabbed a suitcase with some important research hidden in it and walked out the building. Two guards approached, who were talking to one another: "…then Frances said to me: 'Chris, it's not because your mom has a reputation of being bad I break up, it's because you're a jerk!'"

"You shouldn't have cheated on her with Helen." The other guard said. "Dan, Dan, Dan. I'm not made for a single girl…hey, what are you doing there? I don't recognize you. What are you doing with that suitcase?" the first guard, named Chris said as he aimed a gun at her.

EL-153 said nothing, but just smirked. "Answer me!" she rushed at him, and both tried shooting her, but she dodged the bullets with unnatural reflexes, ran up the wall, jump kicked Dan, grabbed his gun and shot Chris before he could react. She then ran for it as Dan had activated an alarm and more guards came in.

She ran for them with the suitcase, but found herself blocked by several more in her path, only to once again agilely dodge all the bullets by quickly protect herself with the bulletproof suitcase, as she then whacked the guards with her suitcase. Several more came in, as she sweep kicked one, wrapped her legs around the neck of a second and snapped it's neck, and stabbing a third one after morphing her hand into a blade.

She then ran for it, and the building was closing itself off, and a metal plate shoved over the doorway, but she slid under it just in time as it shut. She then run further outside as she spoke in her communicator. "Boss, I got the stuff. I'm in range of teleportation." She said as she vanished in thin air, the research gone with her.

END OF EXTRA


	41. Have an ice day I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: HAVE AN ICE DAY, PART I

In the Northern Tundra, one of Mobius' two icecaps, and the only one that is habited. This region, like many, had fallen control under Eggman, and now it's time to release this one from its control. By defeating it's sub-boss.

"Ice Pawns! Attack!" a giant robotic polar bear ordered his own variation of the Egg Pawns, which were white and had ice themed weaponry like pick-awes, ice guns and such. All while in a Russian accent.

"Arctic Freedom Fighters, show them what you're made off!" a brown wolf in a green vest said as he led his team of Freedom Fighters into the battle. His name was Guntiver and he was the leader of the Arctic Freedom Fighters. He dodged the ice blasters of some Ice Pawns, before kicking a Pawn, ripping it's arm and the blaster off, freeze the Pawn with it and pushed the block of ice he was now into some others.

A huge polar bear with blue shorts (who looked more bear-like then Bark now you mention it) used his great strength to scrap the Ice Pawns by the dozens. This was Augustus. One tried lashing with a pick-axe, but Guntiver grabbed it, lifted the Pawn by it, tossed him off and used the pick-axe to tear apart some other Ice Pawns.

A female ermine had camouflaged herself and allowed her to give the drop on several Ice Pawns, taking them by surprise, and using some swift kicks to destroy them. This was Erma, Guntiver's girlfriend.

"Coming through!" a penguin with a red cap said as he slid down on his belly and bowled over some Ice Pawns like bowling pins. This was Flip.

"Viva la resistance!" a female sea lion wearing a beret and a striped shirt said as she slid into some Ice Pawns as well. She then kicked one up with her tail and juggled it on her nose, before tossing it up again and use her tail flippers to slam it into some other Ice Pawns.

"You're next, Snowy!" Guntiver said to the robotic polar bear. "My name is Polaroid you insolent little brat!" the robotic polar bear sub-boss growled. "Whatever you say, Snowy, you are going down." Guntiver said as the Freedom Fighters of the arctic surrounded him.

"I will not be taken down by the likes of you." Snowy said as he opened his chest and shoulder plates and fired ice missiles, the heroes dodging quickly by jumping aside, Flip and Sealia sliding on their stomachs and tackling into the robotic bear, before Guntiver and Augustus both delivered a powerful punch to him. Erma then came in and launched a flying sweep kick at the robot.

He staggered back as he said: "You haven't seen the last of me you little punks!" the robotic polar bear tried to run, only for a blue beam that created a wall of ice that blocked his path. He then saw something small and round rolling at his feet, which blew up in his face and sent him flying. He looked up to see Rotor and Dulcy.

"You're getting quite good at using those ice powers." Rotor complimented his reptilian girlfriend. "Training is paying off. So, shall we put this big ugly bot on ice?" Dulcy replied. "If our colleagues don't mind us tagging along." Rotor stated. "Not at all, the more the merrier." Guntiver assured them.

The six gathered around the sub-boss, who looked angry but scared at being outnumbered and surrounded. "If I am to go down, I'm taking you all down with me!" He growled as he punched the ground with his strong fists, making the ice crack under him, and the cracks travelled towards our heroes.

"Get out!" Guntiver ordered as they tried to run, but the icy floor under them collapsed, and Snowy and the Freedom Fighters fell down in the abyss created by Snowy's recklessness. Dulcy grabbed Rotor's hand and tried lifting him, but at the moment she found it hard concentrating on her joy to induce flight, and fell down with the rest of them.

"We're going to crash!" Augustus said in panic. "Not if I can help it!" Rotor said as he tossed a bomb underneath them, as it hit the bottom, it expanded in a huge amount of foam and it broke their fall, and they came out of it unharmed. All except Snowy, who had broken into pieces once he hit the ground, not having landed in the foam.

"Oof, that was close, quick thinking, honey!" Dulcy said to Rotor.

"May be…but how are we going to get out of here?" Rotor wondered. They were all in an underground ice cavern complex of sorts, but they were trapped. They couldn't climb their way back up.

"I guess the best thing we can do is just trying to find out way out. Good thing I never leave without my compass." Guntiver said as he pulled out a small golden-colored compass.

"Then lead ze way…" Sealia asked. Guntiver walked in front, while the others followed closely behind. As they left the scene, some shadowy figures with glowing red eyes lured from the darkness and looked over the pieces of the fallen Sub-Boss.

They walked for a few hours, but they didn't appear to go anywhere."I think I've seen that piece of ice in the shape of Justin Beaver about three times already, and it's three times too much, he's an awful singer. My flippers ache, we're going in circles I'm telling you." Flip complained.

"By whimpering about it we're not going to get much further Flip." Erma said moodily.

"This place is throwing my compass out of whack, I can't tell north from south. If only we had a map of this place or something." Guntiver noted.

Suddenly Dulcy grabbed her head in pain, as several images flash through her mind. An image of looking at things from behind a screen, in a world of green, and vague shapes with red eyes. Then it suddenly stopped as she regained her senses. "Dulcy, something wrong?" Rotor asked worried.

"Yeah…I'm fine. I think I might know now how to get out of here, just don't ask me how. Just follow me." Dulcy said as she gestured the rest to follow her.

"Sure, why not? It's not like anything else is going to help us out." Erma sighed as they followed the komodo dragon girl. Dulcy led them down a corridor they had walked earlier, but took some different turns, one leading to a dead end.

"Er…I think you've been mistaken." Guntiver noted. "No, I know it's here somewhere." Dulcy said as she reached out her hand towards the ice wall, she started feeling around it. Then when she touched a specific spot several digital lines appeared on the wall as it slid away into the ground and a staircase revealed itself. They all looked surprised.

"Dulcy, can I ask you how you did that?" Rotor asked. "I don't know myself. Let's just go down here." Dulcy said as they went down the newfound corridor.

They travelled down it for a while, as they soon heard some sounds in the distance. "You hear that?" Guntiver asked, having the most sensitive ears. They snuck closer down into the corridor. Down where their corridor crossed another, they quickly had to hide in the shadows as they saw a few robots walking by.

These didn't look at all like Egg Pawns, they were actually very fox-like. The fact they were bulky and unrefined showed they weren't guys in Badnik suits. Each of them was carrying one of the body parts of the scrapped Snowy. "Odd, I wonder who designed those things, clearly not Eggman designs." Rotor noted as the robotic foxes went down the corridor.

"Let's follow them, we have been living on top of a robot hideout without us knowing and it sounds fishy." Guntiver noted.

"There's fish? I'm hungry!" Flip noted.

"Silence, no time to think of your bottomless stomach for now." Erma bit softly.

They followed the robotic foxes unseen until they came across a really large space. It was unbelievable, that under the ice, there was this huge laboratory where robotics foxes were working this whole time. Some of them were mixing chemicals, others were tinkering with machinery and others were bringing in the spare parts of some Ice Pawns that were scrapped.

"What the heck is this place?" Rotor wondered. He then looked a bit more clearly in the distance and saw a bunch of robotic foxes working on two particular machines. "Shellcracker and Dragonfly?" Rotor said surprised.

Dulcy put her hand above her eyes Indian-style and looked too. Indeed, it were the former two Eggman Generals, only they were deactivated, missing some bodyparts and they were damaged, and they were being repaired. "It's them, or what's left of them at least." Dulcy added.

"So, you know those machines they work on?" Augustus asked.

"We do, and they are pains in the neck, why should someone try to repair them?" Rotor answered.

"I dunno, but whoever it is, it can't be good." Dulcy said suspiciously.

"Someone's coming!" Flip noted. The heroes ran for it and went down another corridor, barely avoid being seen by the robotic foxes. "Okay, we split up. Me and Dulcy will go down there, the rest of you split into two and go down those two corridors, 'kay?" Rotor suggested. The Arctic Freedom Fighters nodded as the group split up.

Guntiver and Erma followed a group of robotic foxes, and they came across a room where more robotic foxes were build. They had gathered the remains of Snowy there and were studying the tech. "The claw parts should make nice additions to the new models, and the ice missile tech is also largely undamaged, might prove useful too." One of the robotic foxes said, as they studied the tech.

"They're reverse engineering the technology…can't be good." Guntiver said, he and his girlfriend remained unseen thanks to the camouflage techniques Erma used on them both.

"We finally got rid of snowpuss, he'll continue to haunt us as part of these new foxbots. What we'll do?" Erma answered.

"Report this to the others. They might want to know about this." Guntiver said.

Flip, Erma and Augustus were sneaking around another place, where they saw some fox robots, working on some missiles. "This is definitely suspicious. If they're rebuilding Eggman tech and constructing weapons, it can't be good." Augustus said.

"We might want to get out of here, they're giving me the chills…get it, chills?" Flip stated.

"Eet eez no time to joke, we need to get going." Sealia groaned at the bad joke, as the three continued on their way.

Rotor and Dulcy came down the most secure location of the lab. They saw a few fox fighters walk in a room. The room closed behind them. They moved in closer to the door, but they couldn't get in. "I see it's locked…the door has an optic scanner and a metal signature detector…" Rotor stated.

"Does that mean you have to be a foxbot to get in?" Dulcy asked.

"Pretty much…let's see if we can get ourselves some foxbots." Rotor said as they looked around. They saw some foxbots passing by. "Bingo!" Rotor said as he and Dulcy snuck up on them, and Rotor tossed a small EMP charge, disabling the robots.

They grabbed the robots and put them in front of the door, allowing the systems to scan them, while they stayed behind the robots to mask their own signature. The door opened and they ran through, dropping the disabled fox bots as they looked inside.

In this room, they saw several liquid-filled tubes, and in each of the tubes were several naked Mobian forms. Several were identical and put in lines. "What the heck is this place?" Dulcy wondered.

"There are sets of identical Mobians…I guess they're clones. The liquid filled tubes only add to that theory." Rotor replied.

"Okay, now I'm feeling quite disturbed." Dulcy said.

"We'll investigate for just a little longer and then we're out of here, compare notes with the others and get out. The other Freedom Fighters might want to find out about this, about someone else conducting illegal experiments in secret." Rotor said as he took pictures with the cam function of his communicator.

Dulcy walked further down the facility, getting the chills. "Why do the thoughts of these liquid filled tubes scare me so much?" she thought to herself.

But Dulcy was seriously shocked when she saw a particular set of clones in tubes in the back. Each of them identical and similar…to her. All of them cute feminine reptilians, same green scaly skin, and pink frilly Mohawk-like frills on top of their head. "They're…me?" Dulcy muttered shocked.

"Dulcy, what is…" Rotor asked as he suddenly noted the tubes of Dulcy clones. "Oh dear…" Rotor muttered.

Erma and Guntiver tried sneaking away after taking a look at the robotics lab. They snuck away in a corridor, sighing in relief as they weren't noticed. "Oof…I'm lucky my beautiful ermine girl is so good at playing hide and seek." Guntiver said relieved.

"You're such a flatterer. But it's business before pleasure. So let's get going." Erma said as they ran down the corridor. But then they heard an alarm going off as they saw several figures run in their direction.

Somewhere else, the other three arctic freedom fighters were running from a large group of robotic foxes. "You just had to raid that fridge did you?" Sealia asked annoyed.

"I was hungry!" Flip muttered as they ran.

"If we get out of this alive, you really need to learn to control that appetite of yours!" Augustus said as they ran.

"Who even put a fridge in a place where only robots work?" Flip asked. They soon bumped into Erma and Guntiver. "Hi Gunt, Erma…you see…" Flip said.

"Our little blubber nugget couldn't control his hunger again and got us busted. Now we need to run before we're caught." Augustus said as they ran from the robotic foxes horde.

TO BE CONTINUED


	42. Have an ice day II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: HAVE AN ICE DAY, PART II

Dulcy stood there staring, unblinking, unmoving, frozen in place as she saw her dopplegangers in the liquid-filled tubes. "Who…am I?" she wondered. Did someone clone her without her knowing? Why would someone clone the likes of her? She hasn't been with the Freedom Fighters that long? There aren't any other Hands of Fate…what was the purpose?

Was she herself one of them? Created from a tube? It would explain the images she saw, and how she was able to find her way in this place. But she also remembered living with a family, and a mother after which she took…was that fake? Which memories were real?

"Dulcy, I know this is shocking to say the least, but snap out of it…I'm sure there is an explanation, even if I don't know it right now…" Rotor said. Though he was also shocked, he tried to keep a leveled head, since they were inside a dangerous place. However, Dulcy stood there unmoving as she was paralyzed.

"Oh man…maybe I can try to comfort her by trying to collect info on this place." Rotor said as he looked around and found a computer. "Bingo!" Rotor might not hack as efficiently as Nicole, but he managed to type away and get some info out of the computer. "Okay…infiltrator series, biological drones, designed to be mindless. Which means Dulcy shouldn't be able to qualify." He noted.

He decoded some more as he learned more. "However, one of the clones was reported missing…but at the same time, there was no time to program the clone, so she must have wandered off mindlessly and aimlessly. Oh man, this stuff is so vague…Maybe look ahead some more." Rotor continued to dial, but the rest was harder to decode. "Okay, this stuff must be more important, since it's heavily coded, even the codes are coded. I might copy the files and have Nicole decode it later." Rotor pulled out an USB-stick and copied some of the files into it.

But then the alarm tripped by Flip earlier sounded, and soon a herd of robotic foxes were attracted to them and advanced. Rotor was forced to abort the download and leave with the little info he had recovered. "Dulce, we got to scram!" he said to her. But she was still paralyzed. Rotor slapped his forehead and decided to just pick her up in his arms.

Rotor reached for a few bombs and tossed them around to cover his escape, blowing up the tubes and some robots. Since the clones were mindless drones at this stage, it wasn't really killing, since they weren't exactly alive. "I just hope she snaps out of it later on, cause I can't keep doing this on my own." Rotor said as he fled.

As he ran out of the cloning chamber with Dulcy in his arms, he bumped into the Arctic Freedom fighters, all falling down to the ground as they collided. "Ouch! Sorry!" Rotor mumbled.

But the bumping into one another gave the robotic foxes some time to catch up to them, aiming their weapons and shouting: "Halt, in the name of the Hooded One!" one of their commanders said.

"Hooded one, my ass!" Erma said as they got up and ran off as quickly as possible.

"I wish we just could fight them." Augustus stated.

"We're outnumbered, it's wiser to run." Guntiver said.

"But we don't even know where the exit is!" Flip stated.

"Best to worry about one thing at the time." Rotor said, still carrying Dulcy. However, as they tried to turn into another corridor, they were cut off by some foxbots. They tried turning into another one, but there were some other robots. Soon they found themselves surrounded by herds of Foxbots, and they knew they couldn't fight that many head on. So they did the only thing they could and raised their hands, showing they surrendered.

Later on, the seven of them were placed inside a cage, stripped of their weapons and gear. Dulcy was still in her catatonic state, and her arm was engulfed in a metal container, preventing her from using her powers either way.

Rotor saw how the Fox robots had confiscated his bombs, but also have taken a few apart to see how they work, as they themselves planned on using the technology for their weaponry in the future.

"This is all your fault. If you could control that stomach of yours for once, we'd not be stuck in here." Erma growled at Flip.

"Sweetheart, growling at him won't help any of us, we need to think of a plan to get out." Guntiver stated.

"I hope ze smart Walrus knows something, if ee isn't too busy trying to wake his frozen girlfriend." Sealia stated.

Indeed Rotor hasn't managed to snap Dulcy out of it. "C'mon Dulcy, I need you here." He said desperately.

"It's not like with Snow White, you can use a kiss or anything. That'd be too easy." Flip moaned.

Rotor scratched his chin, thinking about what Flip has said. Knowing nothing else to do, he decided to roll with it and kiss his girlfriend passionately on the lips, who soon unfroze and returned the kiss.

"I was just kidding." Flip stated.

Dulcy and Rotor broke apart as Dulcy said: "Thanks…I needed that. But to say the least, what I saw there was…"

"We'll worry about that later. First we need to get out of here." Rotor replied.

"And how are we going to do that wise guy? We don't have any tools left." Erma groaned.

"It's not because they took our bombs and weapons, we have no tools left. Sealia, lend me your hairclip!" Rotor said. Sealia did as she removed it from her hair and Rotor used it to start picking a lock on the contraption around Dulcy's arm. They soon heard a clicking sound. "It's unlocked, but leave it on for a while longer, we don't want the Foxbots to see it."

"Okay, she's free, now what? Can't she just blast the robots with an ice beam?" Flip asked.

"If we freeze or melt a few, they might find out what we did and alarm the entire place again. No, we need a quick and effective getaway." Guntiver said.

"I don't even know how the Foxbots go in and out. The only thing that remotely looked like a form of transport was that huge missile we saw." Flip stated.

"Maybe if we remove the explosive parts, we might be able to take a ride on it. Good thinking Flip." Rotor stated.

"Really? Yay, two in a row, new record for me." Flip said happily.

"Where is the missile located?" Rotor asked.

"Not far actually, just down the corridor on the left. If we are to make a quick escape, we should have ample time to launch the missile." Sealia said.

"But we need to get out of this cage quickly. But do we do that? The metal is quite durable, even Augustus couldn't break it." Erma stated.

"Dulcy's old cold and heat trick. She just needs to switch between fire and ice fast enough so that it weakens under the temperature changes. Then Augustus needs to put his strength on it and we're out." Rotor stated.

"My cup of tea." Augustus said.

"Okay, stand back. And don't make me lose focus, switching between frustration and calm personas quickly isn't easy." Dulcy said as she raised her gauntlet and concentrated, first launching fire, then ice, then fire again then ice, and eventually the metal looked weaker.

"Now, Augustus!" Rotor stated as the polar bear used his bare fists to break the weakened bars, and they were out. "Now let's get out of here."

They ran down the corridor Sealia had pointed out, and into the missile lab. There were several fox robots. However the Freedom Fighters quickly dispatched this small group of robots, before Rotor initiated a lockdown on the lab by hacking a computer. "Okay, barricade the doors, I need to reprogram this missile to take us out of here without blowing up or landing in a place where it does harm." Rotor instructed.

The arctic freedom fighters moved all kind of stuff in front of the doors, while Dulcy melted it all into one big heap of metal so it was welded in place. "This should bide us some time, but they'll get in eventually." Dulcy stated.

"No worries, I can at least hack away in peace…" Rotor said, but then several fox robots came out of the sky and landed near them. "We forgot the air vents!" Rotor realized.

"We'll hold them off, you keep doing your stuff!" Guntiver said as he punched a fox robot, who merely staggered back, and didn't break as easily as an Ice Pawn, the wolf holding his hand in pain. The fox robot aimed a gun at him, which he kicked out of its hands before it could fire and caught it, using it to shoot the robotic fox apart. He then used the blaster to fire at more robots.

Erma picked up one of the guns of the fox robots and started blasting some of them with it, which in turn dropped more guns upon being destroyed, which the others picked up, minus Augustus who just smacked them around with his brute strength.

"Mine doesn't work!" Flip said, being the only one who didn't get his gun to work. But as he shook it around violently the gun sprang to life and started firing around on its own wildly, causing the heroes to take cover as Flip's wild gun started to destroy the robots. "Did we win?" Flip asked surprised when the gun finally was out of ammo.

"The ones that got in through the air vent is gone, but they are forcing the door open now!" Erma noted.

"Good thing I'm done then. Everyone, get on the missile and hold on tight." Rotor warned. They all got on the missile, Rotor grabbing some pieces of scrap, which Dulcy welded to the missile as handles to hold on. "It's set to launch, and it also will destabilize this place." Rotor stated.

As the missile started charging, the fox robots broke in, only to be met with a lot of fire from the missile's ignition, which melted them as the thing shot through the icy roof, and the entire place destabilized as it collapsed.

The missile shot out from underground, as huge chunks of ice collapsed at once, burying the facility. "Everyone let go! Dulcy, break our fall with your wind moves." Rotor instructed as they let go. Dulcy tried to focus all her emotions on protecting her friends, which caused a huge tornado to pop up, and to gently lower them to the ground.

"We did it, not only did we defeat a sub-boss, but we also took down a hidden lab run by robotic foxes." Guntiver said.

"But the question is, who build the place, and those robots?" Rotor wondered.

"The question I'm more worried about is…who am I?" Dulcy asked herself. She still wasn't over the shock of seeing those clones of herself.

"Listen Dulcy, I know you feel unsure, not well versed in your existence. But it doesn't matter. Remember Nicole? She also got her fair share of identity crisis, not knowing whether she was real or not. But in the end it didn't matter, as to us she was our friend, in any shape or form." Rotor stated.

"Might be so…but if I ain't real, then what am I?" Dulcy asked.

"I'll tell you what you are: a friend, a freedom fighter and a great girlfriend. Nothing can change that. I trust the girl I know." Rotor assured her.

"I still want to find out who I really am…that's the only way I can come to grips with it. If I'm the real Dulcy, the better. If I'm not…I dunno, I'll still be part of your life and of the freedom fighters, but how am I to stand out from the real me?" Dulcy stated.

"You already stand out from anyone else." Rotor assured her. He then kissed his girlfriend, who relaxed in his arms.

"What the heck where they talking about?" Flip wondered.

"Who cares, I'm getting some ideas!" Erma said as she pulled her own boyfriend Guntiver into a kiss.

Somewhere else, location unknown, a fox robot reported to its master: "My lord, someone has discovered one of our hidden facilities and destroyed it."

"What is the damage?" the figure asked. He wore a long brown cloak, on one of his hands white gloves, his other one cybernetic.

"We lost a lot of the salvaged technology and the clones, as well as the Super Missile. But we recovered the Eggman Generals, some explosives we confiscated of the intruders and some video footage. We saw one of them looked a lot like the Series D Clone Infiltrators." The Fox robot explained.

"Really? I wonder, is it the specimen of which I took the DNA? Or is it the escaped clone? It doesn't matter, the Eggman Empire is down, and as soon as the Freedom Fighters do the dirty work of cleaning up its remains, I'll rise from its ashes and make my own empire. I'll take my place as the rightful ruler of the world and create order in this imperfect chaotic world." The Hooded one said.

At another location, another baddie, the dark cloud being to be exact, had his new army ready, as well as his minions. "We are going to be ready to make our move very soon. After the Freedom Fighters take down the last of those flawed designs from before, it will be time to start out fresh and create the world anew. But to do so first, I need to test out my newest device on living material first…"

The device consisted of a platform with several glass pods on it. In each of the pods was a different type of living being. One was a plant, another was a Feral, a small type of predator dragon to be exact, another one was an Overlander and the last one was a Mobian…which looked exactly like Dulcy, only different close, no nose piercing and no gauntlet.

"And start." Eggman said as he activated the machine, as it hummed to life and zapped each of the living specimens inside. Each of them (minus the plant) screamed in pain as the beam hit them and they started to change…their skin turning to metal, their veins turning to wires, their organs turn to motors and engines, their eyes to optics. Soon, the plant, the feral dragon, the Overlander and the Mobian were all completely robotic.

"Yes! It works! With this I can rid the world of repulsive organics and create my completely mechanical empire." The villain gloated.

"Don't forget it's because of me stealing the parts you needed you could complete this." EL-153 stated.

"I know, and you'll get what's coming to you…but only if it's more successful out of in the field. But for now, you get credit where it's due, my Infiltrator Android." The villain replied.

"I don't like being called that. I may be an android, but I have personality you know, you designed me that way. I need a name." EL-153 said.

"How about Elise? It derives from your code name." Orbot suggested.

"I like it." She replied.

"After you are done with your identity crisis, we need to get to work. With one robotifyer…no, robotizer…nah, Roboticizer! With one Roboticizer we won't conquer the whole world." The villain said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	43. The trainees I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: THE TRAINEES, PART I

Somewhere in Efrica (obviously the Africa of Mobius) lies a place, a place where your journey as a Freedom Fighter starts, where from here you can go multiple ways, but always at one point it will come across a point where you'll have to prove yourself a hero. And it all starts at the Freedom Fighter academy.

Before being enrolled in the Freedom Fighters, you need training, and the training base for young recruits around Mobius was hidden on the outskirts of Efrica. While not all Freedom Fighters have trained here and it's not a requirement to have train here, heck Sonic and his crew never attended, because at the time of their training the academy didn't exist yet. Team Maverick and the Chaotix didn't attend either, but each of them already had received a form of training on their own.

But sometimes it's easier for newcomers to be trained in a more professional way, and if things come at a nice steady pace. At the academy, several youngsters of various ages had collected at the indoor obstacle course, waiting for class to begin.

Amongst them was a small group of particular young Mobians. A small friend group consisting of two brown hedgehogs, a yellow mongoose girl and a pangolin boy. The brown hedgehogs were twins, a boy and a girl, and both had the same black eyes. The boy had a red vest, black spiked wristbands and red and white sneakers, and bangs in his hair. The girl had a red dress, black gloves and boots and a golden belt. The mongoose girl had red hair in a ponytail and blue eyes, and she looked really nervous. She wore a purple and green outfit The pangolin boy had a similar build to Mighty, with peach muzzle and belly, white gloves, blue and white sneakers and his back covered by thick hard brown scaly plates. His eyes were black, his fur brown and his scaly plates a yellowish brown.

The two hedgehogs were Sonia and Manic. They were Sonic and Tails' cousins (for the latter adoptive cousins) and the son and daughter of Charles (aka Uncle Chuck) and Rosie. Inspired by their cousins, they wanted to become Freedom Fighters. They made two great friends at the academy, the mongoose girl named Mina and the pangolin boy Kato. Mina was very shy and nervous in nature, which drew Manic's attention, who wanted to help the girl open up. Kato was mute, though no one knows why, but with some gestures and hand signals he manages to communicate with others.

"Attention!" their trainer, a ram named Ari said, the group of youngsters getting line. "Okay kids, you've come quite a long way. We don't ask for children to fight for the future, but this is a war, and those who want to fight for what they believe in and to save their loved ones get a chance. Heck, even the most famous freedom fighters went out on missions at your age." Ari explained.

"Like cousin Sonic?" Manic asked. "Why you always have to bring that up?" Sonia moaned. "Yeah, like your cousin…but it's not about him now, it's about you. Your parents had all wished the day would never come that you would be tossed in the turmoil, but you are so brave and you want to do right in the world, who are we to take that chance away from you. You are going to be Freedom Fighters one day.

"We've learnt you the basics: the history of how it came to be, theory on fighting, spying, stealth, and tech. But now it's time to put those skills to the test. We've prepared an obstacle course, which puts you in a scenario. You will be divided in groups, and you need to use the surroundings and your wits to your advantage. The group who is left standing last, will be acknowledged as a Freedom Fighter group." Ari explained.

"Excuse me…sir, but are we seriously letting these half-pints compete? I mean they're nine! I don't think Eggman robots aren't going to be afraid of any kids." A goat Mobian amongst the cadets stated. "Hey, cousin Tails was kicking butt at age seven." Manic stated. "Manic, I think that's enough…" Sonia stated. "Is that why they are allowed to compete? Because they're related to the ones who took down the Eggman?" the goat asked.

"No, they got allowed because they scored just as high as any of you on the entrance tests. They are very smart and skilled for their age. They get the chance. Any other complaints, Mr. Griff?" Ari concluded. "No sir." Griff said annoyed.

"Okay, with that said, make teams of four and get started. Not just form teams cause you're friends, but to balance one another out, and to make sure you'd put your lives in the hands of the said persons." Ari ordered. Manic, Sonia, Kato and Mina immediately swarmed together.

"So…tell me why you think you four should work well together?" Ari asked them. "Me and my sister know each other so well we know what one another does, we are like clockwork. Mina doesn't say much but she trusts us, and trust is important on a team. And Kato despite his limits, we can feel what he tries to say to us. We are just a close group!" Manic explained. "Mh…sounds reasonable. Fine, you are the first group." Ari said as he checked out the other groups.

"Y-y-you think w-w-we're ready for this?" Mina asked softly, almost whispering. "Of course we can, we've been doing great so far at class, we can do this as well." Manic stated. "But this is no theory, this is the real thing, these are not mere exercises, this is close to the real thing you know." Sonia stated. "Hey sis, where's your sense of adventure." Manic said.

Kato made some gestures with his hands, which signaled: "We'll just try our best and see how it turns out." "It will turn out great Kato, I assure you." Manic assured his silent friend. "I don't think the others will hold back, because we're the youngest, we'll probably be easier targets for them." Sonia said. "That's we're they're wrong, they're underestimating us. And we'll use that to our advantage." Manic assured them.

"Was that something sensible coming from that pocket of air between your ears?" Sonia commented. Manic gave her a dirty look before he resumed his happy façade and said: "C'mon, you can't deny we're all skilled. We may not look like much, but Kato…Mina…I've seen you use some good moves." Manic assured them.

"B-b-but I can only do them when I'm alone…I try them in front of anyone, I mess up." Mina said shyly. "You just need to be more confident in yourself Mina. If they're people watching or not didn't matter, if you can do it, you can do it. Don't think, just feel." Manic said as he wrapped his arm around her, comforting her. "I-I-I'll try." She said. Kato made a heart sign with his hands as he made kissy faces. "Don't get so smug." Manic warned Kato.

Sonia giggled a bit. He knew her brother liked Mina but he would never admit that. She then turned to her friends. "One thing I got to admit: we're quite a close team, we have relied on one another before, but now we need to rely on each other to work our way through this one." Sonia stated.

"So Team…we need a nice name for ourselves." Manic stated. "Is that important? What's just wrong with Freedom Fighters?" Sonia wondered. "Yeah, but each of them has a cool prefix. Like the Emerald Island Freedom Fighters, or the Wolf Pack." Manic replied.

Kato made some gestures that signaled: "Well…we're an underground fighting team, so how about Team Underground?" "Kato, that's brilliant, we're Team Underground." Manic said happily.

"Are you kids ready, the test is about to begin!" Ari stated.

Each of the groups were released into the course, which holographically altered itself in a forest. Each group now needed to find its way around the place and take out the others as part of the test. "Okay, follow me, I got this covered." Manic stated. "Who died and made you leader?" Sonia whispered. "Don't think, just do!" Manic replied.

They snuck through, keeping their eyes peeled. Mina whimpering and holding onto Manic's arm. Kato was the most focused, and was very ninja-like in his actions, while Sonia casually strolled looking bored and Manic looked like he enjoyed it. They peeked around a tree and saw a first group of other students. "Here's our chance. Kato, let's rock and roll!" Manic instructed.

Kato gave a thumbs up and he and Manic climbed into the tree. Kato curled up as he dropped down from it, landing on one of their heads, knocking them to the ground. Manic then jumped off, on the backs of one of them, and the momentum of the jump made the trainee loose balance and knock himself into tree. Sonia moved in quickly and delivered a sweep kick, knocking another one down, while Mina stood in the background, standing there nervously, as she slowly approached. One of the knocked out trainees started to regain consciousness, Mina eeping as she was startled and knocked him back out with a kick.

"One group down, another few left." Manik said. "Let's not get cocky here. That was a rather weak and clumsy group, the others will be tougher." Sonia stated. "Hey, we're working out way up." Manic said amused as he and the group moved away.

"I got a bad feeling about this, should we be really doing this. We're quite young, maybe we should back off and enter again when we're older." Mina suggested. "We're not going to give up, cousin Sonic and Tails wouldn't give up!" Manic stated. "We're not Sonic, Tails or any of their group. I know you admire them, we all do, but we're not them." Sonia bit at her brother.

Kato made gestures that translate into: "We're here to learn to be Freedom Fighters, to help people, not to make a name for ourselves." "I know Kato, but it's a nice bonus, don't you think." Manic said as he turned around and walked backwards a bit as he talked to his group. "Look out!" Sonia said suddenly…

Another group of trainees had heard one of their traps they made go off. It was Griff's group. "Yes, we got them." Griff said as they jumped out of their bushes, only to see nothing. "Er…I heard the trap go off…why isn't there anyone in the net?" Griff wondered. Then suddenly the said net dropped down from the sky and caught his group, as Sonia and Mina moved in with a rope to tie them up.

From a tree, Manic and Kato could be seen. "Nice trap, almost fell for it, but we didn't. Now we used it against you." Manic said as he and Kato climbed down the tree.

"If I didn't warn you in time, you'd have walked right into it with your stupidness." Sonia stated. "Yeah, but you did warn me. That's why we're a team, we watch each other's backs. I watch yours, you watch mine, sis!" Manic replied. "How can someone be that stupid manage to be so deep as well?" Sonia wondered.

"Things go a lot better than I thought…" Mina stated. "Of course it does, give yourselves a bit credit. You tied them up rather nicely." Manik stated, as Griff groaned at being bested by some kids. Kato gave a thumbs up to Mina, who now blushed and fumbled with her ponytail.

"R-r-really?" Mina asked. "Sure, you're as much part of this team as me, Sonia and Kato. We're no team without you." Manic said. "I feel a little more…I don't know what but it's good, right?" Mina said. "Okay, now let's do it to it! We'll prove them that we can win this little…"

It was then that the hologram faded around them, turning the forest back into a plane field, as an alarm sounded: "The final test has to be cancelled, a huge robot attack has been reported and all active Freedom Fighters are needed to deal with this threat, all students must make their way to their dormitories and remain there until later notice." A voice said over the intercom.

"Oh crud! We were winning!" Manic moaned as he and his group followed everyone out the arena and back to their dormitory. "At least we lasted quite some time out there. I'd expected us to get booted out much sooner." Sonia said. "Yeah, but now they've seen we're no pushovers, we don't exactly have the element of surprise anymore." Manic stated.

Kato gestured with his hands again, signaling: "That means we need to get better so we are prepared for next time." "I know…but it was more fun if we'd succeed from the first time." Manic sighed.

"I think you did good Manic." Mina said. Manic smiled a little. "Thanks…well, good night girls." Manic said as he and Kato went to their room, Sonia and Mina went to theirs, and they locked the doors.

In Manic and Kato's room, Manic sighed. Kato patted him in the back, basically saying: "Hey, it's cool, you'll show them what you got next time." "You know Kato, I know I talk about my cousin a lot, but it's because if you related to someone like him, everyone expects you to live up to their standards…" Manic said. Kato shook his head. "You say I shouldn't try to be like him?" Manic asked. Kato nodded.

"Then who do I need to be?" Manic asked. Kato pointed at Manic. "More like me? You know Kato, for someone who doesn't talk much, you are a deep person, my amigo." Manic said. Kato smiled.

"So, wanna practice our music? It always helps me putting my mind off things." Manic asked. Kato nodded. Manic grabbed a guitar while Kato pulled a collapsible drum set from under his bed. "One, two, three!" Manic said as they started practicing their music.

In the girls' room, Sonia had pulled out her keyboards as she played a tune on it. Mina always felt soothed when Sonia played. She really could get lost in the music at times. Sometimes, she felt like singing to the tune, but she never does it, because she's so shy. However, at times she felt her mouth move without actual noise coming out, just synching her lips.

"You wanna sing Mina, I don't mind if you do." Sonia said. Mina blushed and turned away and said: "I-I-I can't. Every time I open my mouth, I want to get it out, but I can't. Not when someone else is listening." "Mina, you should loosen up once in a while. If you keep retreating in your little shell like that you're not going to get far. Live!" Sonia assured her.

"But what if my singing voice is horrible?" Mina asked. "It can't be that bad…come one, sing with me…" Sonia said as she started to dial a tune on her keyboards. It was one of Sonia and Mina's faves. It was sung by a very old band, but it was a timeless classic. Sonia began and started singing the first few notes:

Half past twelve  
And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone  
How I hate to spend the evening on my own

Autumn winds  
Blowing outside the window as I look around the room  
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom

"Come on Mina. Remember what my brother said? 'Don't think, just feel'. It's the most sensible thing he ever said." Sonia encouraged. Sonia sang the next few lines:

Is there a man out there  
Someone to hear my prayer

And as they got to the chorus, Mina decided to go for it, and alongside Sonia sang the chorus:

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A man after midnight!  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

"Was that good?" Mina asked. "That was amazing, just continue like that…" Sonia said as they repeated the chorus once more:

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A man after midnight!  
Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away  
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight  
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day

"Didn't that feel good Mina, letting loose once in a while?" Sonia said. "Now you said it…it felt good. And to be honest, I started to feel more comfy with the exam as it went on." Mina muttered.

"I knew there was a reason why you are here at the FF Academy. You wouldn't be here if there was something hidden under that shy pretty face. You just need to unwind." Sonia said.

"You know, if the Freedom Fighter think might not work out, we might be able to start out a band." Mina said. "Well, that doesn't sound that bad of an idea. Butt-kicking and music making…two things I love…I wonder if there's a way to combine those things." Sonia thought.

"Yeah, but don't we need someone to play drums or guitar for that? Just the keyboards won't cut it." Mina wondered. "My brother plays guitar and Kato plays drums…" Sonia explained.

"Manic with a guitar? That sounds good to me…" Mina said blushing. "You like my brother don't you?" Sonia asked. "Maybe…" Mina said shyly again. "It's obvious, it's because of Manic you managed to befriend us, and he helped you through the toughest parts in class. He is the one who helped you open op. I mean I don't think you would've sung with me now if Manic hadn't complimented you on your performance during the test." Sonia stated.

"Wouldn't it be weird if your best friend dates your brother?" Mina asked. "Oh, I don't mind. You have a positive effect on him. I notice he drops the tough, cool guy façade that makes him look like Sonic with you around…he likes you too." Sonia assured her.

"You think so?" Mina asked hopefully. "I'm sure." Sonia answered.

It was then that the ground started to shake and everyone in the base felt it. Someone had in another part of the academy, blew a hole in the wall. A group of Egg Pawns painted in African tribesmen colors then rushed in. Since the most experienced Freedom Fighters had left to deal with the robot invasion elsewhere, there were only some trainees and freshmen left behind to defend the base, and they would be able to take down some Egg Pawns, but they get overwhelmed pretty fast.

The Egg Pawns were led by the Efrican Sub-Boss, a robotic insectoid, who looks just like his namesake. His name was Locust. "The robot invasion serves as the perfect distraction for our real plan: round up the young organics. I have plans for them." Locust said.

Manic and Kato came from their room, as did Sonia and Mina, and some other trainees. They then saw the Egg Pawns march down the hallways. "We're under attack." A trainee said as they all panicked and started running around scared, making it easy for the logical driven Egg Pawns to round them up.

"Don't panic, you'll only get caught." Manic warned them, but it fell to deaf men's ears. "We gotta hide!" Sonia suggested as they ran off…

They managed to hide themselves in an empty classroom. "Whoa, who would've thought we would have to get faced with eggman robots already? Who would've thought they'd find this place?" Manic said.

"I guess this is our exam all over again, only more real and more dangerous…" Sonia said. "I don't think I like this…" Mina said nervously. Kato just rubbed his arms, also nervously.

"Then I guess we have to put our skills to the test. We can't let them take over our academy like that? We can't let them hurt the others can we?" Manic asked.

"But what can we do? We're just four kids?" Mina asked.

"Strength is there in numbers, but strength is there in here as well." Manic said as he pointed at his head. "We're screwed." Sonia muttered. "We may be outnumbered, they have better arsenal then us, but like Griff's group at the exam, they'll underestimate us. We got that advantage." Manic stated.

"But are we going to be able to pull it off?" Mina asked.

"We just need to save the others, and then talk some sense into them, and if we play our cards right, we might drive them out. No one takes our academy." Manic encouraged them. He reached out his hand. "Team Underground?"

Kato nodded as he added his hand to it. Sonia nodded as she put her hand on top of Kato's. "I'm in, bro!" Mina gulped as she said: "A-a-as am I!" she said as she put her hand on top of Sonia's.

"Okay then, let's show those metalheads what Freedom Fighters are made off." Manic said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	44. The trainees II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: THE TRAINEES, PART II

A group of Egg Pawns had collected the trainees they rounded up at the cafeteria, walking back and forth, while keeping a close eye on the young trainees. No one dared to move. They were trained, but they have never actually faced an actual threat, and the suddenness of how it's forced upon them made them meek and easy to catch.

However, one of them got brave and stood up. "No! I've trained my whole life to be a Freedom Fighter and I won't go down like a chump!" Griff roared as he broke away from his group and charged at one of the Egg Pawns, but in his angered and inexperienced state, one of the Egg Pawns knocked him down with the handle of his gun and stepped on his back to prevent him from getting up.

"We got a lively one out here…he'll be the first to be subjected to my experiments. Take him along." Locust said as a few Egg Pawns grabbed the dazed Griff and dragged them along with them. "If anyone else gets an idea, the Egg Pawns are machines, cold calculated beings, they won't hesitate to kill." Locust warned the trainees. As he left the trainees were silent.

The Egg Pawns continued to keep an eye on the trainees, but didn't knew that from the air vents they were being watched by Manic, Sonia, Mina and Kato. "Okay, how are we going to get them out of there and dodge the Egg Pawns at the same time." Sonia asked.

"That's not the plan, the plan is to have them stand up to the Egg pawns remember?" Manic reminded her. "But how are you planning on doing that? They are scared!" Sonia asked.

"By giving them a confidence boost. This is what we're going to do…" Manic said as he started explaining the plan. Once he was done explaining Sonia said: "That's a stupid plan…But it's not like we have a better plan." Sonia reacted.

"I think it might work. It makes sense to me." Mina added. Kato nodded in approval as well. "Fine, we'll go with Manic's plan. It might be so stupid it actually works." Sonia said.

The Egg Pawns continued monitoring the trainees, as the lights started to flash and the cafeteria darkened. "What is this?" the leading Egg Pawn said. Then a single light went off and single silhouette could be seen. "What's up, Egg-Butts?" a voice said, sounding a lot like Sonic's.

"Is that Sonic the hedgehog?" "Here at the academy, it can't be! Can it?" were some of the murmurs that were heard among the trainees. "Come out hedgehog, even you can't handle all of us, you are outnumbered." The Egg Pawn said.

"Who says I'm alone? I'm joined by dozens of Freedom Fighters." The Sonic silhouette replied. "These organics who haven't reached maturity yet? They're of no importance. They are no threat." The Egg Pawn replied.

"No they're not, they're just like me, a bit green but they're Freedom Fighters and if there is something Freedom Fighters are good at, it's trashing Egg Pawns. So you should be scared…I know you can feel fear. Buttnik programmed you with personality since he compensates for the lack of company that way…and once the kids have learned the Boogie man isn't real, and bullies like you are actually cowards, it gives you a reason to be scared." The Sonic silhouette said.

The light around the silhouette went off, a small gust of wind blew through the room as if Sonic sped through the room. Some could vaguely make out something round pop a few Egg Pawns along the way, and a split second later, another light on the other side of the room turned on. The silhouette of Sonic reappeared. "I am not scared of you however, because I always know there is someone to have my back: my pals at the Emerald Islands, the wolf pack, and now these kids. I can sense potential, so I'm not scared."

"You hear that?" "He believes in us?" "The Sonic believes in us…let's not disappoint him." "Yeah, let's get them!" "We're Freedom Fighters!" the trainees regained their confidence and they charged at the Egg Pawns, who were baffled at their change in attitude as the trainees swarmed on them, knocked them down and took their weapons, using them to take down the remaining pawns. The Freedom Fighter trainees cheered for their victory.

It was then that the light turned back on, and in the place of Sonic now stood Sonia…though she had briefly restyled her quills to look like a Sonic silhouette. Now she combed her quills back as they were. "You…you're not Sonic." A trainee said.

"No, but you thought I was…but I wasn't." Sonia said. Manic, having pretended to be the silhouette the first time, before Sonia took over at the other side of the room, making it look like Sonic had moved fast across the room, Mina being visible at the controls of the air-conditioning, having recreated the effect of a gust of wind blowing when Sonic ran, and Kato being the one who had curled up and popped the Pawns.

"But you found the courage to stand up to the Egg Pawns by yourselves, because you believed in yourselves." Manic added.

"The dude's right!" "Yeah, in the end we did it ourselves." "We stood up to them." "Yeah, and we cracked them!" the trainees discussed amongst themselves.

"Now you have shown you can kick butt, let's kick some more, and show that big but robot guy that we won't let them take our school without a fight." Manic stated. The trainees cheered for him. "Whoa, he has the crowd quite worked up…a born leader." Mina said, looking dreamingly at Manic. "Follow me, and let's save the academy!" Manic said as he gestured everyone to follow him. The Trainees cheered for him as they did.

In the chemistry lab of the academy, Locust has set up base and turned it in a personal lab. He had readied a ray gun and had Griff strapped on a table. "Guinea Pigs, that's the only thing you organics were good for. You see, ever since Eggman realized Sonic and Tails had great power, he tried creating his artificial Chaos Adepts in secret. But Chaos Emeralds are unstable and dangerous unless you have the complete set. Power Rings aren't powerful enough and Chaos Drives get drained too quickly. Then he tried with Power Gems…" Locust monologued to Griff. He held out a thing that looked like a Chaos Emerald, only less refined, and having no distinct shape.

"They're like Chaos Emeralds, as they contain similar energies but unlike the original Chaos Emeralds long ago, they didn't have the chance to grow out to fully fledged emeralds during the coming of Chaos Energy on Mobius. But this is where the Chaos Drives and Power Rings actually come in useful: to stabilize and fill in for the Power Gem's lacking aspects." Locust continued as he placed it in the ray gun.

"I've continued Eggman's research even after his death, because I like his ideals. I like the way he thought…artificially enhanced organics with power of Chaos energy as minions…it's just brilliant. But I haven't managed to successfully create one, as all my test subjects died. But I haven't tried it on a pre-adolescent organic yet, and I think your young bodies might be strong enough to survive…" Locust said as he aimed the ray gun.

Griff looked scared, being speechless and close to crying. "Cry all you want, filthy organic, no one can save you, your comrades are my prisoners, and I have taken control of the base's defense systems. Once the full-fledged Freedom Fighters return from their mission, they are unaware that they'll be blasted away by their own weaponry." Locust grinned as he started dialing on the computer.

However, Locust didn't realize the Freedom Fighter trainees, under Manic's leads were picking off his Egg Pawns one by one. Outside, the Egg Pawns had tripped over ropes, caught into nets, being blasted by stolen Egg Pawn weapons and lured into more booby traps. Eventually, Manic, Sonia, Kato and Mina were at the lab, where they saw what Locust was about to do. "Let's sneak up on him." Manic suggested. He others nodded.

Locust was busy bringing in some data in the computer, ready to modify Griff in a suiting way. The four kids snuck across the labs, splitting up and taking position around four different spots. Manic then nodded giving them a signal, as they all jumped out at the same time and pounced at Locust, but surprisingly he knocked all four down with a sweep from his leg.

"Whoa, good reflexes…" Manic moaned, being dazed by the attack. "I don't know whether you're foolish or brave, but it's in vain. I'm a Sub-Boss, I won't go down as easily as an Egg Pawn." Locust stated.

"You will eventually, right now the trainees have started to take apart your army of Egg Pawns. You made a grave mistake at underestimating us." Sonia stated. "They're replaceable. I on the other hand am one of a kind. And I'm going to crush you for your insolence." Locust said as he jumped up, the four kids scattering as they dodged as Locust tried to crush them with his body.

Manic rushed at him, but got backhanded by the robot. Sonia grabbed a chair and tossed it at him, but he kicked it in half. Kato tried spin-jumping into him, but he caught Kato in his hands and grabbed his throat. Manik and Sonia moved in to try to help him, but he grabs Sonia in his other hand and pins Manic down under his foot. "Meddlesome kids…I'll end you three lowlifes right now!" Locust growled.

"Just one prob, Loc! They're four of us." Manic stated. "Huh?" Locust asked surprised as suddenly someone tossed a vial in his face, the chemicals burning away at his faceplate as he let the heroes go. Mina was the one tossing it.

"Being in the background does have it uses." Mina muttered. "Sonia, grab this." Manic said as he tossed a rope at his sister. They each had an end and had it pulled it straight, as Locust screamed in pain as the chemical burnt at his face. "Now Kato!" the siblings said as Kato curled up into a ball and tackled Locust, who tripped over the rope and fell into his own raygun device, being impaled on the long thin tip on the front.

"Argh!" Locust screamed as the device hummed to life, short-circuited, glowed green and looked really instable. Manic and Sonia rushed over to Griff and untied him. "Let's get you out of here." Manic said.

"Er…thanks." Griff barely managed to mutter. The device looked ready to blow, and they wouldn't get out in time to avoid the blast, so the four kids acted on instinct and shielded Griff with their bodies, as a wave of energy engulfed the classroom, blowing apart the furniture and completely vaporizing Locust.

Griff had covered his eyes in fear, but when he reopened them, he saw the four kids, knocked out and now their furs and hair had taken on different colors. Manic's fur was now green, and Sonia was a light purple, both siblings also had their quills fused together. Mina's hair had turned purple and Kato's scale plates have turned silver. He also had grown a few plates on his arms as well.

"Dudes, you all right?" Griff said as he shook them awake. One by one they rose up. You could see their eyes had changed colors as well. Manic's were now green, as were Mina's, Sonia's were purple and Kato's were red now. "Whoa, check us out, talk about a mayor palette swap." Manic noted.

Sonia pulled out a mirror as she said: "I think this new color suits me, it matches my dress better." Kato admired the plates on his arm. But the one who struck everyone by surprise the most was Mina, who looked confident as she said: "Whoa…I feel great, I feel strong, like I can take on the world…like I can do everything I want…" she said. She then smirked as she rushed over to Manic and planted a kiss on his lips.

Manic stood there baffled, wide-eyed before his face turned into a dreamy look as he fainted again, but for different reasons this time. "Get up silly, there are still some Egg Pawns left to scrap." Mina said as she helped Manic get up.

"I was wrong about you, kids. You showed that robot bug who's boss. I'm sorry I was a bit of a jerk earlier. You guys saved my life." Griff said.

"Hey, we're Freedom Fighters, that's what we do!" Sonia explained. Kato nodded as well. "Now, let's clean the rest of the Egg Pawns up, shall we?" Manic said, having recovered and who has gotten up again.

A group of Egg Pawns was left after the rest of the Egg Pawns had been taken care of by the trainees. They decided to retreat and wait for another sub-boss to rise and take command later on. But their path of escape was blocked up by Team Underground. "Where do you think you're going?" Manic said.

Manic rushed up at one of them, and began launching several punches, but not normal ones. He launched punches that were so fast that they were nearly invisible for the naked eye, and the punches were strong too. It looked like an invisible force was crushing the Egg Pawns together. "Whoa…guess that blast did more than change my look." Manic noted.

Sonia acted on instinct, as she started spinning around, becoming a purple tornado of destruction that turned several Egg Pawns into scrap. "Whoa, I'm beauty, brains and brawn!" she noted.

Kato curled up into a ball to protect himself from the laser fire of some Egg Pawn Blasters, but his silvery plates have become so durable it bounced off him. He then uncurled, the scale plates on his arms extended into blades, and used it to slice apart the Egg Pawns. Kato looked admiring at his new arm plates.

Finally, Mina inhaled deeply as she opened her mouth and let out a huge sonic scream that sent the Egg Pawns flying. Mina had a smile on her face as she said: "You can't stop the music."

Later on, Ari and the other Freedom Fighters had returned to the Academy. They were tired and hurt from a long grueling battle, but everyone has made it through relatively intact. "You all fought bravely today, I think we have reduced the Egg Pawn populace to…" Ari said as he stepped in the base (the defense systems were back to normal) but looked at how messy and trashed it looked. "What in the name of the Holy Walkers had happened here?"

It was then that all the trainees arrived on the scene to confront the adult Freedom Fighters, Team Underground in the front. "Mister Ari sir…" Manic saluted. "What has happened to your fur?" Ari asked. "Not important sir, a group of Eggman robots had invaded the base. They took us by surprise, but we managed to fight back." Manic replied.

"Yeah, they had rounded most trainees up, but me managed to organize them into striking back." Sonia added.

"We managed to completely dismantle all the robots, sir!" Mina added.

Kato made some gestures which Ari didn't understood. "He says we have security footage to proof it." Sonia elaborated.

"Not to mention they saved my life sir, but they got exposed to Chaos Energy in the progress…they are the ones who saved the day, they gathered the trainees against the group of Eggman bots and they are the ones who saved the Academy." Griff added. He really had warmed up to our heroes that he defended them.

"Okay…let's first make sure everyone is accounted for and calmed down enough before you tell me about the details." Ari said. After they did so, the four Underground kids told the story in more details, everyone having gathered around to listen in closely. "I see…" Ari said, stroking his goatee pondering.

"As all of you trainees have managed to effectively managed to defend the academy, there's no more need for a final exam. You all are now official freedom fighters…" Everyone cheered in joy as Ari had made that statement. "Except for Team Underground." He added, and the cheering died down.

"But why?" "They saved the day!" "It's not fair." The trainees argued, but Ari raised his hand as he silenced them. "You didn't let me finish. These four kids have not only managed to lead you all, but have gained extraordinary abilities in the progress…they are getting assigned a different team, a team of Elite Freedom Fighters. You'll be mentored by a real Freedom Fighter veteran, Harvey Who to be exact, and he'll guide you in your career." Ari added.

"Really? Us, elites?" Manic asked surprised. "This is too good to be true…" Sonia added. "I don't know what to say, it's just so much." Mina said. Kato rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not knowing what to 'say' either.

"Wait until mom hears this, or cousin Sonic, their minds will be blown." Manic said joyfully. "You should really stop comparing ourselves to Sonic and his gang. We have shown we stood out on our own." Sonia reminded him.

"I guess you're right. Still he's our cousin and he'd like to know…alongside the fact why I look like I've fallen in a can of lime paint." Manic stated. Mina moved next to him and grabbed his hand. "Green's my new fav color you know." Mina said. "Mine's yellow." Manic said as he wrapped his arm around her.

Kato opened his arms and made kissy faces at Sonia, who said: "Forget it buster!" Sonia said dryly. Kato pouted. He turned his head, and saw some cute female Mobians amongst the trainees giggle and wave at him, Kato smiling as he raised his eyebrows a few times as he moves his scale plates on his head back like it was hair and made his way for them.

"Now, let's get this place cleaned up, we want to celebrate these events in a place that looks like a battlefield, can we?" Ari said.

Meanwhile, in a factory far away, with the dark cloud being was checking the status of Eggman's Sub-Bosses on his computer. "I see the last of the Sub-Bosses has fallen. Oh well, they'll be replaced with much better ones once I pick up the pieces…"

The Hooded One was checking out their status as well. "Now the fat buffoon's final sub-boss is gone, I'm ready to insert my own legions inside the released area's…"

"…And I will take over!" they both said at the same time.

TO BE CONTINUED


	45. The secret service

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: THE SECRET SERVICE

Prison Island was probably the most secure place for criminals in the United Federations. No one has ever escaped under the watchful eye of the aptly named war Howard Watcher. Until today…

In a specific prison cell a small Overlander with three single hairs on his head and a long needle-like nose was sitting on his bed in the cell, not moving a muscle. It was nearly nighttime. The guard knocked against his cell door: "Lights out Slimely!" The prisoner hated that nickname, but he didn't react, as soon enough the guard wouldn't laugh anymore.

The prisoner looked at his watch. It was nearly time…the last few seconds ticked away as finally things would look good for him. It was then that the power went out and all the cell doors opened. The prisoners didn't think twice as they rushed out in joy as they were free. The guards came in and tried to keep them in line, but where overwhelmed.

There was a lockdown initiated to keep the prisoners contained in a single room, and the prisoners started bashing against the single steel plate against a wall. No one had an eye on the one nicknamed 'Slimely' any more as he had somehow climbed up to a specific window, which opened out of itself. He crawled out and jumped out, but instead of dropping like a brick he somehow gently floated down onto the ground, landing safely.

He looked at the searchlights and checked his watch, and counted down a few more seconds as the searchlights went out and he moved forward. Some Overlander guards with some Feral guard dogs came in but somehow the figure sent them flying through unknown means, knocking them into walls and out cold. He moved in front of the gate and somehow jumped up really, really high, over it before hovering slowly back down and gently landing on both feet.

He strolled down to the coast, where a motorboat stood. In it was an Asian-looking Overlander woman in a red dress. "Our plan worked perfect my dear." 'Slimely' said to her. "Indeed Snivykins. Stupid of them to think they could keep us apart." She said as the prisoner moved towards her and kissed her.

"Now, let's get out of this place." He said as he stepped into the boat and the two were off to parts yet unknown. "I missed the breeze of the wind through my hair, too bad my time in prison hasn't been kind on my scalp." He said as he put his hand on his nearly bald head. "You still look fine to me Snivykins." His girlfriend said. "But I digress…we should continue with our other big plan…"

A few days later, some of the Freedom Fighters had regrouped. Sonic and Sally had returned from the Wolf Pack Nation, as were Tails and Fiona from the Great Desert. Finally, Muttski and Nicole were there too. Bunnie and Dulcy weren't with them, as they were currently dealing with the emotional stress they have suffered somewhere else and Rotor and Antoine had decided to stay behind. Amy and Lily were staying in Mercia to instate the new political system before they would return.

So the five available heroes were ready to take on the next mission. They were contacted by the United Federation about the escaped prisoner. However, since they were currently in a huge war with Soleanna, they couldn't spare any of their own troops to assist our heroes, so instead they were sending in another group to represent them.

"Muttski, don't fall asleep." Tails said as Muttski was nearly dozing off. "Muttski can't help it. Muttski sleeps bad lately, and that's because of all rooms, Muttski has to sleep in the one right below Sonic and Sally's." Muttski moaned. Sonic and Sally blushed at this.

"Who are these guys we're meeting anyway?" Fiona asked. "They're the Secret Service. They're the second most prominent anti-Eggman movement on Mobius, next to the Freedom Fighters themselves. The two groups have worked together in the past." Sally explained.

"So, any guys or girls among the group we know?" Sonic asked. "No, I don't think so. We have worked with them before, but only a few times, but never the same group twice. So I'll bet this group will be new as well." Nicole replied.

"Why are we working with these guys for a single escaped prisoner?" Fiona asked again. "From what we could tell so far, he's very dangerous and we need to approach him carefully. The Secret Service is bringing us more details." Tails added.

In the distance a vehicle approached, which was no doubt belonging to the Secret Service. It had stopped in front of our heroes as the group of Secret Service Agents step out. There was a grey mink girl with white hair with a single purple streak in it. She wore a purple bodysuit. Her companion, a skunk girl with purple hair with a single white streak, also wore a purple bodysuit.

There was a striped male lynx in a black bodysuit, and a female black cat girl wearing a blue scarf, boots and shorts (though different from Sally's) and fitting blue visor-like glasses. She also wore a red vest and a green t-shirt. But the final member shocked the heroes slightly, as well as disgusted them. It was a male skunk in purple beret, boots and utility belt, as well as a small crossbow on his arm.

"Geoffrey?" the Freedom Fighters asked simultaneously. It was indeed that skunk boy who used to bully them around when they were kids, now grown up and of all places he had one amongst the Secret Service. "I'm no less happy to see you either…but we have a mission to accomplish so, no matter how much you look up to it, we'll have to work together." He replied.

He took a good luck at the bunch of Freedom Fighters in front of him. "Though I doubt how we'll make it work…" Geoffrey muttered. "Who is this guy?" Fiona asked. "Geoffrey St. John. When we were still little kids, he used to bully us at school with his cronies, Ash and Hamlin. Where did those two end up anyway?" Sonic explained.

"Ash has become the manager of a music group I don't care about, Hamlin has gone in politics, not very successful if I recall." Geoffrey stated dryly. "I thought that I didn't have to look at anything ugly anymore after we busted the big egg himself, but fate decided otherwise." Sonic muttered.

"Ha-ha real funny. If you'd like to pull your head out of the gutter, meet my own team. Joanna Mink, Jessie Skunk, Larry Lynx and Hershey Cat." Geoffrey introduced his team. At least they were more polite, waving, bowing or shaking hands with our heroes.

"Oh my Walkers, I can't believe we're actually meeting the Emerald Island Freedom Fighters. We're such huge fans!" Joanna said excited. "Yeah, we know all about you, the Miracle Planet thing, Scrap Brain, the Death Egg…so cool." Jessie added.

"Any Freedom fighter who stands against Eggman would have done the same." Sally said modestly. "Of course, it happens so that we were so awesome to take those first steps." Sonic said, less modestly.

"How did you create such an advanced program like Nicole anyway?" Jessie asked curiously, pointing at the handheld in Sally's hand. "I'm no program!" Nicole said agitated. "So, it is the real her…" Geoffrey stated. He did look uncomfortable for some reason, before he recomposed himself.

"What you think of Muttski?" Muttski asked Jessie and Joanna. "Who are you?" both purple body-suited girls asked, as Muttski fainted anime style. "Muttski doesn't deserve this…" he moaned.

"You guys are our heroes." Larry Lynx asked excitedly. "I didn't know we were that famous." Tails noted. "You kidding? After you took down the Eggman, how couldn't you be?" Larry noted. "He's got a point there, we never realized how much of a rep we would get when we took down the big boss." Fiona thought.

Muttski looked funny at Hershey. "You remind me of the old school psychiatrist Cocoa Cat." Muttski stated. "She was my mother." Hershey explained. "Oh…Muttski has never seen you at school." Muttski stated. "I was home-schooled." Hershey explained further. "So…how's Cocoa?" Muttski asked. "She's…no longer with us." Hershey answered. "Oh, Muttski's sorry…" Muttski said. "It's nothing…" Hershey said.

"Now, when we're done with the introductions…let's talk about our mission." Geoffrey took out a holographic disc and showed a hologram of the prisoner. "Colin J. Snively II. That's our man, he formerly worked with Eggman before his coup. He developed weapons for the United Federation. However, when Eggman found himself close to being discovered, he let Snively take the fall for him, by framing him."

"Then why is he sent to prison? Once Eggman's true colors were revealed he should have been proven innocent, does he?" Sally asked. "He was…but his time in prison left him unhinged, and due to a lack of money or resources and being left to restart at the bottom, he got nuts and took the people in the Iron Queen Tech Building hostage." Geoffrey added.

"Blame Eggman for ruining the so manieth life." Sonic muttered. "However, oddly enough, the chairwoman of Iron Queen Tech, Regina Ferrum came to visit him very often after the hostage situation was resolved. She had developed Stockholm Syndrome and gained feelings for the mad man." Geoffrey explained further.

Muttski looked closer at the hologram of Snively and his face grew into one of disgust: "Muttski shouldn't berate anyone for having different tastes, but geez, Regina got a bad one."

"She had visited him at Prison Island very often. The two somehow managed to concoct an escape plan…speaking with each other through code during visits they suspect. Eventually the plan worked." Geoffrey finished his explanation.

"How did they managed to pull that one off? There were only two of them." Tails wondered.

"A device Iron Queen Tech has developed, called the Magitek. It connects to one's brainwaves, allowing them to control nearby machines through it. Though intended for making handling heavy machinery easier, she abused it for her own needs." Geoffrey finished.

"Literally turning thought into power…" Tails stated. "Well, what are we standing around here for, let's get started. Say Geoff, where are we heading?" Sonic asked impatiently.

"We suspect her to be hiding in an abandoned factory that once was used by Iron Queen Tech, but has been left unused since the coup of Robotnik." Geoffrey elaborated further. It's located somewhere northeast from here. We'll go ahead, while you stay behind us." Geoffrey replied.

"Hey, who put you in charge?" Sonic asked. "Got a problem with that? You may have experience with Eggman tech, but you know little about Snively and Regina." Geoffrey stated. "I still won't take orders from the likes of you." Sonic said. "What you mean by that?" Geoffrey asked. "Oh don't pretend like childhood never happened. You were mean to me and my friends." Sonic reminded him.

"This has nothing to do with what we're doing now. We're going on a mission together, so like it or not, so stick to the format. Besides, I'm no longer that kid I was back then." Geoffrey replied. "Oh, then you don't mind saying a few things to us, like how you regret it and want to apolo…" Sonic began.

But Geoffrey cut him off. "This is of no relevance now. So get in the back unless you want to go on foot and may not turn out the fast thing you claim to be if you're trying to catch up to the truck." He then moved towards the front of the truck and took place behind the wheel, leaving Sonic fuming, but Sally put a hand on his shoulder, and shook her head, signaling him to stand down, which Sonic reluctantly did.

They took seat in the back of the huge truck-like vehicle and let Geoffrey drive them to their destination. "He's no less of a jerk then he was back then." Sonic muttered. "You have to excuse Geoffrey. He has trouble expressing his emotions properly. He does regret being mean to you as a kid, he just doesn't know how to properly say it." Hershey said.

"What would you know about that guy?" Sonic growled. "More than you think." Hershey said annoyed. "She's his boyfriend." Joanna stated. Hershey gave her a dirty look. "I know, can't shut up." The mink girl replied. "You actually date him?" Sonic asked surprised.

"Listen, he may not be really emotive during missions, but to me he's really sweet. And I trust the man I know. Shouldn't you trust him for what he's now, instead of used to be?" Hershey stated. Sonic didn't speak. "You're not the only one having suffered losses, Geoffrey lost his dad in the day of the coup. Since then he's trying to make sure no one else suffers the same fate." Hershey added.

Sonic's expression softens. "Now I kind of feel like an idiot." Sonic stated. "Just give Geoffrey some time. He'll open up eventually." Hershey assured them. "Remember when we had trouble expressing our emotions to one another?" Sally reminded Sonic.

"You seem cooler with it then me." Sonic stated. "I can't let my own personal feelings get in the way of doing what's right." Sally replied. "Guess someone has to compensate for my hot head." Sonic said. "I'm glad you realize what a lug you can be." Sally joked. "But I'm your lug, am I?" Sonic joked back, as he and Sally kissed.

"Aw!" Jessie and Joanna said delighted. "We're nearly at our destination. I'm stopping the truck here and we'll do the remaining distance on foot. And don't rush off." Geoffrey stated as they approached their target.

The odd thing the factory was hidden far back in the jungle. But that was a minor thing compared to the fact the factory was being protected by several humanoid robotic drones in samurai-like armor. "Iron Pawns." Geoffrey stated.

"Another one of Regina's inventions I presume." Tails stated. "Indeed, and all controlled by the Magitek. Regina can see and hear everything they hear." Geoffrey said.

"Then I guess to control them, she needs immense concentration. We need to divide the attention of the Iron Pawns to divide hers as well. I suggest a few of us distract the Pawns and a few others sneak in." Tails stated.

"I'm in charge so I think of the plans…and the plan is…okay, we'll go with your plan. You're lucky I can't think of anything myself at the moment, must be an off-day.

"I'm not really surprised." Sonic said. "You can count on my Tailsy to always think of a clever plan." Fiona said. "Okay, but now we'll need some volunteers for the distraction…" Tails said as he looked at Muttski.

"Oh no, Muttski won't be the bait, Muttski is always the bait. But not this time, na-ah! Nope, Muttski won't do it, period!" Muttski said, crossing his arms. With the result Muttski ended up being the bait anyway. Muttski approached the Iron Pawns as he ranted:

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!  
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!  
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun  
The frumious Bandersnatch!

This drew their attention, though they looked confused due to Muttski's antics. Muttski approached one of them and put his hand to its face, retracting it, hand curled up in a fist, with his thumb sticking out from under his middle and index fingers. "Muttski got your nose!" he said as he then ran off, the Pawns giving chase.

At the other side, Jessie and Joanna appeared before the Iron Pawns, now both carrying purple pom-poms in their hands that matched their bodysuits. "U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly! Hey! You ugly!" they both chanted, before they ran off, with the Iron Pawns behind them.

The rest of them used the moment of distraction to sneak into the factory itself. They snuck through, staying clear of any other Iron Pawns along their way. "In here." Sally said as she took away the raster out of the air vents, and they crawled in. "Could have thought of that myself." Geoffrey said. "Then why didn't you?" Sonic asked. Geoffrey didn't reply.

They crawled through the air vents, until they came across the room where Snively and Regina were working on a device. Regina wore a crown-shaped object, but the tech sticking out of it showed it wasn't just a crown, but had to be the Magitek. Snively was holding a small mirror-shaped object in his hand.

"Soon, very soon master, you'll be free from the accursed prison that curses you. And together we'll make the world burn." Snively said, speaking into it. Snively was reminded of the first time he got his hands on this relic. It was when he was working with that treacherous Namgge.

They had invented a portal, one to other zones. Namgge decided to go in and explore…but when he got out, he looked scared and asked him to never ever let him travel back to that place again. He then dismantled the portal afterwards. Snively didn't understood, since Namgge didn't want to talk about it.

But one thing Namgge had brought along from his trip. The same relic that he held in his hand. And behind him he now stood the same device that brought this relic to him long ago: the portal device.

In the air vents, the heroes listened in closely. "What is he building that giant arc for?" Sally wondered. "I can't tell what it is from here…Nicole, you catch something?" Tails asked.

"No, and I can't send out a signal to tell, it might alert Regina's Magitek device. She'd probably recognize any tech signature that isn't one of her own machines." Nicole explained.

"I'm more worried as to why needlenose is talking to a mirror. Either he loves talking to himself, of he's nuts…in a way that's the same actually." Sonic noted. It was then that from the other side of the air vents, Muttski, Jessie and Joanna came crawling in.

"Muttski, Jessie and Joanna have put the Iron Pawns on a false lead, they should go around in circles for a while." Muttski explained. They then hears a cracking sound. "What was that?" Jessie asked.

"The air vent can't support our combined weights…we're all lightweights, but we weigh something. Get back." Sally realized. The heroes tried moving back to squeeze their way out, but Geoffrey and Sonic got tangled up as they tried to crawl out at the same time. "Get your foot out of my face!" Geoffrey growled. "Get your tail out of my face."

"Guys, not so loud, you'll…" Fioan warned, but the air vent under them started to collapse, and the whole group fell through and fell to the ground, in front of Snively and Regina. "This is your fault!" Both Sonic and Geoffrey said.

"Well, well, well, we got uninvited guests…" Snively said with sadistic glee. "Regina dear, would you welcome our guests in the proper way?" "Sure will do, Snivykins!" Regina said as three panels behind her in the wall opened up, and three bigger and stronger looking Iron Pawn-like robots stepped out.

"Iron Bishop, Iron Knight, Iron Rook, take them down!" Regina ordered. The three robots, looking every bit like the chess pieces they were themed after, advanced on our heroes. "Well, guess it's time for plan B!" Sonic stated.

"That is?" Larry Lynx asked. "Smash stuff." Sonic answered. "Secret Service, Freedom Fi…" Geoffrey brought out, but Sonic halted him: "You command your secret service, but the Freedom fighters are Sally's to command." Sonic stated.

"Fine, Secret Service, battle stations!" Geoffrey ordered. "Freedom Fighters, Attack!" Sally shouted.

TO BE CONTINUED


	46. Naugus

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: NAUGUS

Last time, the Freedom Fighters and the Secret Service were up against the combined efforts of Snively and Regina Ferrum. The three had just sicked three of their battle robots at them: Iron Bishop, Iron Knight and Iron Rook. The group split into teams to fight them: Geoffrey, Sonic, Sally and Hershey fought the Iron Rook, Muttski and Larry Lynx took on the Iron Knight and Jessie and Joanna fought the Iron Bishop. Tails went after Snively while Nicole tried to hack the Magitek with a wireless signal.

The Iron Rook was a giant tower-like robot with tank tracks and two cannon-like arms, sporting a single eye. It fired it's arm cannons, and the heroes scattered to dodge. Geoffrey and Sonic both rushed at it, both jumped up at the same time and bumped in one another, falling to the ground, as they had to move quickly to prevent being run over by the huge tank tracks of the thing. "I had him!" "No I had him!"

The girls rolled their eyes as the rushed into action, Sally grabbing her tonfa and Hershey pulling out two chakrams. The Iron Rook fired its weapons, but they deflected it by spinning their weapons around as both struck the robot with their respective weapons. "That's how you do it boys!" Sally stated. "So you're going to sit there and bicker or show what you're made off?" Hershey added.

Both groaned. "Fine!" they said. "I take him low, you take him high?" Sonic suggested. "Whatever." Geoffrey said as they both charged at the Iron Rook, dodging it's blasters and jumping up again. Sonic curled up and homed in on the lower torso, knocking it back while cracking the armor, as Geoffrey fired a bolt form it's crossbow in its single eye. Sonic then homed in on the broken eye as Geoffrey fired another bolt at the cracked part of the armor.

Both hit their marks again as the huge machine toppled over, sparked and parts of him blew up. "I could have done it myself." Geoffrey stated. "Yeah, but it's more fun if someone has your back." Sonic added. "Well…that was a nice home-in attack." Geoffrey admitted. "And nice aim with the crossbow thing." Sonic replied.

"You're finally getting along I see." Hershey said smiling. "No we're not!" the boys simultaneously said. The girls giggled at this as they boy crossed arms and turned away from one another.

Larry screamed like a little girl as he was chased by the centaur-like Iron Knight, who swiped with his sword. Muttski jumped in as he said: "Beware the Jabberwock…" only to dodge a sword swipe itself as the Iron Knight wasn't distracted. "Maybe Muttski should have recited Shakespeare." Muttski muttered as he ran away from the Iron Knight.

"You have a plan?" Larry asked. "Yeah, but it involves getting changed." Muttski said as he took Larry's shoulder and spins him around, and Larry suddenly found himself in a matador costume. "How did you do that?" Larry asked. "Muttski doesn't know himself, now you distract the Knightbot!" Muttski said as he put Larry in the Knight's sight.

"Er…toro? What's the Spanish word for horse?" said as he waved the red drape that came with the costume at the knight, who charge forward with his lance. Larry waved dodged aside and waved the drape matador style as the knight missed him. Due to being controlled mentally by Regina, it had a few human traits, like losing its temper when Larry kept pulling off more of these 'olé's' on him.

But the machine was distracted by this as he charged at Larry again as Muttski came out of nowhere, grabbed a tube of mayonnaise and sprayed it on the ground in front of the Iron Knight, who couldn't dodge in time anymore as he slipped on it and crashed in an opposite wall, broken and battered by the crash.

"Don't tell me…you don't know where that mayonnaise came from?" Larry asked. "Nah, Muttski just never leaves the house without mayonnaise. Mayonnaise makes everything better!" Muttski muttered. Larry said: "You're really weird." "Muttski knows!"

Jessie, Joanna and Fiona went up against the Iron Bishop, who was just an upgraded Iron Pawn using a huge cane like real bishops had as a bo staff to fight, and due to its mechanical nature, it could attack with agility and endurance not possible by organics. The three girls launched, punches, kicks and other attacks, but the machines' agility made it more than a match for the three.

But maybe it was because the purple body suited girls were bickering like mad. "Jessie, stay in formation." "I'm not out of formation, you are!" "I thought we agreed on maneuver Alpha." "No, we agreed on maneuver Beta!" "No we didn't!" "Yes we did!"

"Will you girls can it? We're trying to kick that can!" Fiona said as she tried swiping her daggers, only for the Iron Bishop to blow every strike. "We should divide it's attention and then strike." Joanna said. "Good idea, I take the left, you take the right!" Jessie said. "No I want the right, it's my lucky direction!" "That doesn't make sense!"

"Can you hurry up?" Fiona said as the Bishop swiped at her with his staff, as she caught the staff in her hand, but was forced on her knees due to the machine's strength. "Right!" Both girls said as they split up and attacked.

Jessie pulled out a collapsible bo-staff (less advanced then Sally's though) and lashed at the Iron Bishop, who caught it in his one hand as with the other he was pushing Fiona back. Joanna snuck up from behind and kicked the back of its head, dazing the machine.

Fiona used the distraction to break loose, and stab the Iron Bishop in the chest with one of her daggers. Jessie trusted her bo staff in the left eye socket of the machine, as Joanna grabbed the Iron Bishop's staff and knocked his head off with it. "Not bad." Fiona complimented. "It's nothing." Both girls said smiling. They then turned to one another: "What were we arguing about again earlier?" "I don't remember…".

As Snively was placing more machine parts into place, Tails rushed at him. The kitsune hoped to get the drop on the small needle-nosed Overlander, but he was surprised when Snively turned around and raised his hand, and a strong gust of wind blew, which sent Tails into a wall. "What? You have aerokinesis?" Tails stated. "No, this is clean and honest magic, young fox. It still exists you know." Snively replied.

"Where did you learn that?" Tails asked as he got up. "From my master, which you'll soon meet!" Snively said as he readied his hands and threw two sharp wind scythes at Tails, who dodged in time, but the wind scythes still cut clean holes in the wall.

"Damn, can't fight him up close like this." Tails thought. He kept dodging as Snively threw more wind scythes at him, flying away from them. "I'm tired of this game of tag." Snively said as he summoned a tornado, which trapped Tails, and Snively had a clear shot at him. Snively threw another wind scythe, but Tails blocked with his namesakes. The scythe trying to break through the tails created sparks, as Tails tossed the wind scythe aside.

"Ouch! I actually felt that one. This wind magic must be Chaos-based if it can hurt me like that. Which means I might be able to…" Tails performed a move he saw Snively do as he copied the wind scythe and tossed it back at Snively. Snively barely dodged, but his three hairs weren't so lucky.

"My hair!" he whined. But Tails had used the distraction and his super speed and flight to rush up at him and punch him out cold with a single punch. "If you rely so much on your powers, your body becomes weak." Tails said as he cracked his knuckles.

Nicole used a wireless signal from her handheld form to get into the Magitek, the device that was close nearby. The digital world inside the headset looked like a combination of Tron and Ancient Japan. Nicole's digital armor now had several samurai-esque features to it. In front of her she saw a digital version of Regina, also sporting a digital samurai-esque armor.

"So…what kind of program are you? How easy will you be to overtake?" Regina mocked. "I'm not program, I'm a Mobian soul who just was misplaced. Nicole said as she pulled out two digital katana's.

"Digitized brainwaves…that makes you still digital. I can still control you." Regina said as she pulled out two of her own digital katana's. Her eyes then glowed as Nicole collapsed on her knees as she felt a huge headache. But Nicole recovered quickly as she giggled and got up. "Nice try!" she said, readying herself for combat.

"But how…" Regina growled. "Those Pawns, Bishop, Knight and such have limited AI and are easy to control, but I on the other hand bear a real Mobian mind, including free will and stubbornness…you can't control me!" Nicole said. She rushed at Regina with her data katana's, but Regina blocked swipes from them with her own. "Then I'll destroy you, in the Digital realm, I'm a queen!"

"Try it, Iron-head!" Nicole said as they broke apart and kept clashing blades. The two became locked, and ran to the sides as they still locked blades before they broke apart. Regina swipes both her blades, under which Nicole ducked as she trusted her own forward, which Regina dodged by leaning back. Nicole made a sideways swipe with both her blades as Regina blocked with a single one and prepared the other one, Nicole blocking it by forcing Regina's other blade in front of it.

They broke apart again as they ran off in the direction of a digital building, while running slashing their blades at one another, Nicole running up the wall as she kept clashing blades with Regina, before she kicked off, grabbed one of Regaina's blades by using her own two in a x-pattern to snatch hers the toss it away. She tossed it aside as Regina lashed with her single remaining blade, Nicole blocking with her blades, in an x pattern.

But Nicole pushed back and shattered the remaining blade of Regina with her own. Regina kicked one of Nicole's blades away, but Nicole used her remaining one to pierce the digital version of the crown Regina was wearing, making her scream in pain as in the real world, the real Regina screamed in pain as she fainted, the mental strain too much, and with her all the Iron Pawns in the building and around it deactivated.

"Whoa, what's with her?" Sonic asked, Nicole having finished her fight shortly after the other teams finished theirs. "I hacked her device and disabled it, she put up a fight mentally, but I'm not a machine like her pawns, so she couldn't control me. But I think I accidentally might have fried her brain a bit during the fight…" Nicole explained.

Snively had woken up after being knocked out by Tails. He saw his darling unconscious, but with her eyes open. "Regina, my darling! What have they done to you?" he said sadly, but then he grew angry as he rushed at the portal and pushed a button on it. "You may have defeated me, but you didn't prevent me from completing it! My master shall rise!"

There swirled some purple and yellow energy inside the portal as a raspy gurgling laugh could be heard as two red eyes became visible in the portal. Soon enough a tall figure stepped out. He looked like a combination of animals, most prominently a bat, with a rhino-like horn on top of his head, one of his hands was a lobster claw, and he had a lizard-like tail. He had a purple suit and a long grey cape. He held a staff with a Power Gem in his normal looking hand.

"Well done, my apprentice. You have finally freed me from my long time imprisonment in that accursed void." He said. "It's nothing master Naugus. I've been held up by these meddlesome brats but in the end I still succeeded." Snively said to the creature. The one called Naugus looked at the heroes and growled. "Blue hedgehogs and kitsunes…those are always trouble." He growled.

"I dunno what's wrong with blue or being two-tailed, but whoever you are, if you are with a madman like Snively, you're our enemy." Sonic stated. "I am Ixis Naugus, last surviving member of the order of Ixis and future ruler of this world. And you'd be wise to stay out of my way!" Naugus growled.

"We already had to deal with one conqueror, we don't want another one in his place." Sally said as she morphed her tonfa's into scythe mode. The remaining heroes took a battle pose. Naugus groaned. "I have no time to deal with a bunch of kids." He said as he raised his staff and fire surrounded him, which soon started to slowly engulf the building.

"We need to get out of here, this place is gonna burn to the ground!" Sonic said. "But Snively…" Geoffrey said. "Capturing won't do you no good if you're dead." Tails stated. Geoffrey reluctantly agreed. Naugus took Snively and Regina and escaped through the shadows with them as they escaped.

The heroes got out in time as the entire building was engulfed in flames and it collapsed onto itself. "Darn it, they got away!" Geoffrey growled. "Not for long, we tracked them down once, we can do it again." Sonic said, being positive as always.

"Er…listen Sonic. I'm sorry for being so…I mean that I am…oh man, I'm not very good at this, I'm just trying to say sorry." Geoffrey said. "It's nothing, Geoff! I am willing to bury the past and look ahead. If you're as fast as me, you need to keep looking forward after all." Sonic said.

Both Sally and Hershey smiled. "But we still got a mission to fulfill. And now we got this mysterious Naugus to deal with." Larry stated. "It's best we collect some information on him first, he came unexpected and he nearly managed to bury us in the burning remains of the building." Sally suggested.

"Leave that to me and Nicole, as she does some data crunching, I can check out the library at Freedom HQ." Tails suggested.

Meanwhile, the baddies had shadowmelted themselves somewhere outside of the forest, watching the remains of the factory burn down in the distance. Once they stepped out, Snively put an unconscious Regina down and bowed for Naugus: "I thank you my master, as without your guidance from the other side I'd still be a prisoner." He then pulled out the mirror relic and gave it back to Naugus.

"I needed an anchor to the outside world, and you were perfect my apprentice, when I talked to you through this, I was pleased to see how fast you learned, and that without drawing any unwanted attention. You showed some careful planning and smarts on your part. Now you have united your science with my magics…you are hereby given the title of a full Ixis wizard. From now on, you shall be known as Ixis Snively!" Naugus said as he did something that looked like knighting, carefully tapping Snively's shoulders with his staff.

"If only Regina was here to see this…if only those brats hadn't done that to her." Snively growled. "No worries, Ixis Snively. Once I've fully recovered from the trip and my army is ready to be revived, I shall do everything to restore her. Those who help me always get something in return." Naugus assured him. "Thank you master." Snively said. "No time to waste, we must reawaken my army, and bring this world to our knees, they need to be punished for leaving us both out to rot in our respective prisons!" Naugus growled.

Later on, the Secret Service and the heroes had regrouped at Freedom HQ. Nicole and Tails both had done their research and now were enlightening our heroes. Nicole started: "According to our research, Ixis Naugus used to be called Nusgau the Bat, wizard of air of the order of Ixis, a group of wizards wielding Chaos-based magic long ago."

"Alongside his partners, Suguna of water and Agunus of Earth, Nusgau took on the fire demon Ifrit long ago. However, his obsession to win caused him to kill his friends and take their powers for his own, horribly mutating himself in the progress. With his new powers the defeated the Ifrit and took its fire power as well. Now having power over the four elements and driven insane by the power, he raised an army of crystal golems to conquer the world." Tails explained further.

"Three heroes, about we somehow couldn't find any data at all, sealed him in the Void, a dimensional prison if you will, and put his army in suspended animation in the Southern Tundra. And we can bet that's where he's heading, as he without a doubt want to resume his plans of world domination." Nicole finished.

"Guess the job of a Freedom fighter is never done." Sonic stated. "Can the others join up with us soon?" Sally asked. "They can, if we really are going up against an entire army, we might get as much help as possible." Tails answered. "I haven't been able to contact Knuckles, I think he is currently dealing with his own problems." Nicole stated.

"From one war into another…I hope we can make it this time." Geoffrey said worried. Hershey took his hand and comforted him: "You had let nothing stop you before from doing what you go to do, and this time it won't be any different." Hershey assured him.

"I hope you don't mind the cold, cause we're going to the Southern Tundra, and while it will be cold, Naugus will turn up the heat real bad." Sonic said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	47. The crystal army

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: THE CRYSTAL ARMY

The Southern Tundra, pretty much the Mobian South Pole. Unlike the Northern Tundra these planes are pretty much uninhabited. But still this place holds secrets, one particular one in fact that could mean the beginning of a brand new war. That is if Naugus and his cronies aren't stopped.

Naugus and Snively, the latter carrying Regina despite his smaller size, shadowmelted onto these planes, as Naugus sniffed the air. "It's close, I can smell it. My army…" he said as he gestured Snively to follow him. They came across a wall of ice. Naugus touched the wall, sensing for something as he then raised his Power Gem staff and melted part of the wall, revealing a secret entrance. "No one can hide them from me, I created them after all…" Naugus growled.

Down the secret entrance, a stairway appeared from which they climbed down. "I expected there to be more forms of protection, master." Snively stated. "There will be, but I can deal with them as they come!" Naugus said. As they neared the end of the staircase, they came into a large room, so large it could nearly be its own continent, and in which several large crystals were stored.

"My army…is sleeping. But they need to be reawakened." Naugus said as he raised his staff as it glowed, but nothing happened. "They made sure it wasn't that easy to revive them again. There is probably a key to their awakening." Naugus stated. "Which you'll never possess!" a voice said.

Naugus turned around to see a large orange simian-like being. "You're the one they placed in charge of guarding the crystal army?" Naugus asked. "Indeed, and no one has ever gotten a chance to awaken the army under my watch. I am the guardian Eduardo!" he stated.

"Well Eddie, then let's dance!" Naugus said as he aimed his staff and fired a stream of fire, which Eddie dodged using great agility for his bulky stature. He jumped up and launched a flying kick at Naugus, who was sent flying, before he morphed his cape into wings and took it to the sky. He fired lightning from his staff, which the guardian carefully dodged by flipping.

Snively put Regina down and wanted to join the fray, but Naugus halted him: "No, let's give him a fair chance. I wanna see if he lives up to the title of Guardian." Naugus said as he created a huge torrent of water to wash Eddie away, before he froze it, trapping him. But Eddie broke free and with great speed rushed at Naugus and kept punching him in the face.

But Naugus used his earth control to turn the floor under Eddie into quicksand, making him sink into it up to his chin before solidifying the ground again. "I win. Now, tell me how to wake them up!" Naugus said. "I will never talk! I will not betray the wishes of the Trinity." Eddie said defying. "Let's see about that…I can be very convincing." Naugus growled.

The Freedom Fighters and the Secret Service had arrived in the Southern Tundra, waiting for the other Freedom Fighters to arrive. Bunnie, carrying Antoine, came rushing in using her Jet thrusters. Then Rotor and Dulcy came, having borrowed Tori. Finally, Lily and Amy came rushing in on Extreme Gear.

"Glad you could make it guys, as you know we have an evil wizard on the loose who plans on reviving an army, so it's good we're having strength in numbers." Sally stated.

"Oh ma stars, ain't that no good bully Geoffrey St. John?" Bunnie asked. "Believe it or not, he's with the secret Service now. But while still having major ego issues, he's changed a lot since our childhood." Sonic stated.

"I'm sorry for what I used to be, but now I'm fighting for the right reasons…and sorry about your current…predicament, Bunnie." Geoffrey stated. "Now we don't have time for this, evil wizard and escaped convict, army of crystal golems ready to awaken. We can't let another world-wide war break out." Tails stated.

"And me and Lilybell just got the new political system in Mercia running. It'd be a waste." Amy stated. "Lilybell?" Rotor asked surprised, as he noticed Lily and Amy holding hands. "You mean you are…" Antoine asked. "Yep, me and Amy are together, we're lovers, problem with that?" Lily asked.

"Not at all…" Sonic said as all the males and Fiona started having nosebleeds. The rest of the girls looked pissed at them. "Seriously, what's it with you guys, it's not because they're together they'd immediately…" Sally stated.

"Actually we did, and it was good." Lily flat out said. "Lilybell, that's supposed to be private." Amy said a bit embarrassed. "I'm no longer afraid to come out for who I am. Besides, you looked so cute in that schoolgirl outfit." Lily replied as she wrapped her arm around Amy's waist. Lily had become a lot more confident now she finally had wan Amy over. "Let's just get back to the mission before they die of blood loss." Hershey said.

"Er…right." Lily and Amy said blushing. "I planted a tracker on Snively before they escaped. I have managed to track them down here." Tails stated as he pulled out a scanner. He took the lead as he led the others to the same ice wall Naugus had stood for earlier. The hole he melted in it still was there. "We're too late! He's already in there." Tails muttered.

"We can still prevent his army from leaving, by burying them in here." Sonic said. "I just hope we'll be able to do this." Sally said. "Compared to Egghead, he's a pushover. We can take him." Sonic assured her as they went down the stairs.

They came inside the room with the crystals, they were still immobile. "Those things are…" Sonic began. "The dormant crystal soldiers. They're not awake yet." Geoffrey finished. "Look!" Fiona said as she pointed at something.

It was Eddie. He was no longer stuck in the ground, but he lay down, badly hurt and looking very weak. "You're the guardian isn't it?" Tails realized. "Indeed…young kitsune. Long ago the Trinity put me in charge. But I was unable to stop Naugus. I've failed them." Eddie said sadly. "You fought valiantly. Snively's a dirty rat and the same can be said about his master. We'll get you some help." Sonic stated. "No, it's too late for me. But not for you. Stop him, blue hedgehog, you and the kitsune must form the new Trinity with the echidna guardian and protect this world now…" Eddie said as he made a painful contraction and went limp. He was gone.

"Poor guardian…we should give him a proper burial later on." Sally said. "Trinity…me, Tails and Knuckles?" Sonic wondered. "We'll worry later, Naugus is still here. And we can't have him succeed with his plan." Tails said as they went deeper inside the large cave.

They eventually came across an altar, where Naugus was studying it. He noticed our heroes. "Well, well, if it isn't the young pests. I don't have time to deal with you." Naugus growled. "Why are you stopping us? We are enemies of Eggman ourselves, and like you we want to clear up the remains of his empire and instate a new order." Snively argued.

"Yeah, but yours is driven by your own lust of power and control, while we seek peace, freedom and benevolence. We are not like you!" Sonic stated. "Freedom and benevolence…lies! Only through order and control we can make sure this world stays in order." Snively groaned.

"They're a lost cause, apprentice. If they don't want to be part of the new world, they'll die alongside the old world. The yeti was a tough foe, but he couldn't defeat me and I managed to pull the answers out of his mind through some torture…and now my army reawakens." Naugus said as he cast four elements at the torches of the altar: fire, water, wind and earth. Once that was done, an idol on the altar started to glow.

A wave of energy ran across the entire comlex, and the crystals started to move, and shapeshift into humanoid sharp-edged forms, other into bulkier and larger forms, some even that of quadruple animals. "My crystal army lives. And they'll dispose of you, and with the ones who triumphed over the Eggman gone, I'll be unstoppable." Naugus said delighted.

"Why do they always bring up, the unstoppable, it pretty much jinxes it!" Sonic stated. "But it's true. Because the echidnas are extinct, there will never be another trinity again. No trinity to stop me." Naugus ranted.

"Okay, what's with this Trinity you keep mentioning?" Sonic asked. Naugus smiled. "Ah yes…the Trinity has been a recurring factor throughout the ages, always a trio of Mobians are destined to do great things. The blue hedgehog, the kitsune and the echidna guardian. Those three always have been there throughout the centuries to stop evil right in its tracks." Naugus explained. The camera zooms in on his eye as we see images in his pupils.

We see the image of a blue hedgehog, kitsune and echidna caveman take down a Mobian mammoth with clubs…we then cut to a blue hedgehog, kitsune and echidna gladiator fighting a Julius Ceasar-esque hyena and buff dingo…the images of three knights, once again blue hedgehog, kitsune and echidna fending off a quartet of wizards: a black cat, a raven, a female rabbit and a goat. Finally we see an image of three privateers (blue hedgehog, echidna and kitsune once more) fight off a Mobian walrus pirate captain.

"Always standing up to those who are threatening the balance of the world, destined to avoid great disaster and calamity, always protecting the weaker and the helpless, always being such goodie two-shoes. What a waste of potential if you ask me." Naugus narrated over the images.

We then cut to scene where Naugus faced another version of the trinity in the past. These incarnations were all female. The female blue hedgehog in tribal gear similar to the wolf pack's, the female kitsune dressed in a kimono and armed with fans and a female red echidna in tribal echidna gear. The three combined their chaos energy and created a portal, sucking the struggling Naugus in.

"But now I'm free to wreck havoc upon a world that's now defenseless. My apprentice informed me the echidnas are extinct now and that I now have free reign in this world. And you two won't stop me." Naugus gloated.

"I can't be the destined blue hedgehog can I? I got my powers through an accident." Sonic stated. "But the Chaos Siphon didn't drain your powers after its first use against Super Sonic…it means the powers were in your genes all along and accident prematurely awakened it." Tails stated.

"I don't care, my army is ready." Naugus said. The crystal warriors had gathered around Naugus and bowed before him, Snively doing the same. "And now they'll destroy you, no one defies Ixis Naugus." Naugus said as the crystal warriors jerked up and turned towards the heroes.

"No one except us. Freedom Fighters, Secret Service, let's put up a show." Sonci said as he and his allies fought the crystal creatures. Sonic jumped up and homed in on several of the crystal creatures, Tails doing the same before the two homed in on Ixis Naugus, who conjured a wall of earth of which they bounced. They landed right back on their feet as they resumed their attacks.

Fiona grabbed her daggers to slice apart some of the crystalline creatures. Tori morphed into mecha mode and fired a barrage of missiles and lasers on the creatures, destroying them completely, while Bunnie flew over and blasted them with Sonic cannons.

Rotor grabbed some bombs and blew up the crystal warriors, while Dulcy, fueled by the recent emotional events that affected her, melted them by a supercharged fire blast. Antoine sliced apart the crystal warriors with his sword. Amy and Lily attacked respectively with bow and arrow and feather darts.

Muttski started to sing: "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier, I got soul, but I'm not a soldier…(quits singing) oh wait, Muttski is!" Muttski said as he pulled out two machine guns and shot at the crystal creatures.

Geoffrey fired at the crystal creatures with his crossbow, while Hershey had pulled out her chakrams to slice them apart. "This reminds me of our first date." Geoffrey stated as he pierced more crystal heads. "Ah yes, the mission down that Egg Pawn factory. Good times!" Hershey said as more crystal warriors were cut apart by her.

Larry Lynx was armed with a blaster, while Jessie and Joanna had a bo staff each. Larry took down the crystal warriors with great accuracy as the two girls showed off some martial arts.

Sally was up against Snively, having pulled out her sword as she rushed at Snively. Snively conjured a strong gust of wind, but Sally activated some spikes in her boots, which allowed her to cling to the ground and slowly make her way to Snively. Snively changed tactics and fired two wind cutters, which she deflected with her sword as she moved in closer. Snively conjured a wind barrier, which deflected the sword swiped she performed on him, but it put a strain to him.

Snively roared in anger as he pushed Sally back with a gust of wind, but she pulled out her bo, combined it with her sword to scythe mode and used her scythe to hook herself into a larger crystal creature, swing around on it and then deliver a flying kick to Snively. She then whacked him with the back of her scythe, knocking him out cold. She then turned to the crystal creatures and fought them.

Sonic and Tails dodged fireballs fired by Naugus. Tails flew up as Sonic spin-dashed at Naugus. Naugus put up another earth wall, but Tails picked up Sonic, tossed him over the Earth wall and tossed him into Naugus' head. He then moved in himself and whacked him with this tails. Naugus flew up and launched a gust of wind, blowing the two heroes away, but they kicked off the walls they were blown into and double homing attacked him out of the air.

Naugus fired a stream of water at them, engulfing them and freeze them. But Sonic vibrated his molecules to phase through the ice and breaks out Tails. The two warmed themselves up by spin-dashing into place before launching themselves at him, knocking him into a wall. But Naugus touched them wall, making it crack and make the ceiling fall on the two. "You two live up to the legacy of the previous Trinities, but you are incomplete. Your friends can't hold off my army forever, they are outnumbered. Any way I win!" Naugus boasted.

However, something blew up the ceiling as another group of Mobians are coming down through the hole that formed. It was Knuckles and the Chaotix. Knuckles removed the debris and released Tails and Sonic "Sorry I'm late, got your distress call, but we were caught up by a group of bounty hunters, and we had to put the security system into place. But we traced Nicole's signal here and thought: let's help out. Oh, and have you met my new friends yet?" Knuckles said.

The Chaotix helped our heroes kick butt as Mighty used his strength to pick up a giant crystal warrior brute and used it as a flail to destroy some others. Ray and Charmy, armed with blasters flew through the sky. Vector grabbed his headphones and fired a powerful sound wave from it, shattering the crystal creatures. Espio grabbed some Kunai, which embedded themselves in the crystal creatures and blew up. Heavy used his weight to crush the crystal creatures, as Bomb blew himself up several times to destroy large herds.

"No, the echidnas are supposed to be extinct." Naugus said fearfully. "They forgot to tell me that." Knuckles stated. "Want to help us kick some butt?" Sonic asked. "Always count me in for a good fight." Knuckles said as they rushed at Naugus. Naugus conjured another earth wall, but Knuckles shattered it with his fists as he punched Naugus in the face.

Sonic curled up in a ball and homing attacked Naugus in the stomach. Then Tails used his Tails to whack him in the back, knocking his staff out of his hand in the progress. Tails picked it up and aimed it at Naugus. Naugus chuckled: "You fool, only a master magician like me can use the power of the staff." But then Tails fired a lightning bolt out of the staff at Naugus, knocking him back. "I learn fast!" Tails noted.

"Listen Knux, it might sound weird, but the three of us have the power to banish this creep in another dimension…just roll with it okay?" Sonic explained. "Fine by me, tell me what to do!" Knuckles said. They put their hands on the handle of Naugus' staff and they and Tails concentrated, as a portal behind Naugus opened.

"No, not back into the Void! It burns!" Naugus said. Snively had woken up, but the sucking force of the portal affected him too. "Regina!" he stated as he grabbed a hold of his brain-fried girlfriend as they both were sucked in alongside Naugus, after which the portal closed. After Naugus was gone, the crystal warriors fell down lifelessly.

The heroes cheered at their own victory. "Well, what'd you know? This Trinity thing might be real after all." Sonic stated. "Trinity or not, we are meant to do great things anyway." Knuckles replied. "But still…never mind. Let's make sure the army can never hurt anyone again." Tails stated as he planted the staff into the ground, and the cave started to shake. "Let's get out people, I'm burying this army!" Tails said as everyone has made their way out, burying the crystal army and ending their threat forever.

The heroes regrouped outside, and it was time to split up again. The first ones to leave were the Secret Service. Sonic and Geoffrey stared at each other intensely, before they smiled and shook hands. "Make sure you keep it up in the future, I don't want to beat you too easily." Geoffrey stated. "I wanted to say the same about you." Sonic added.

"Now if you excuse me, I promised Hershey a dinner tonight. You and your team keep doing what you do best." Geoffrey said. "We will." Sonic assured them.

Then it was the Chaotix turn. They'd stay a little longer to get acquainted with the Freedom Fighters some more, but they'd eventually leave for Angel Island again. "I see you put up a great Team, Knucklehead. But you realize the whole loner image you had has gone to ruins." Sonic joked. "But I still got the tough guy image, right?" Knuckles said. "Yep!" Sonic assured him.

They saw how Vector was hitting on the uninterested Jessie and Joanna. "…and then I said: 'I found the computer room!'" but they didn't laugh at his terrible, terrible joke.

Meanwhile Heavy and Bomb were fawning over Tori. Heavy brought out flowers, but Bomb jumped in his way with a teddybear, and soon the two siblings tried to push one another aside to gain Tori's attention.

Bunnie and Mighty held a small competition to see who could lift the most weight, and it appeared that despite her implants, Mighty was just as strong as her, as the pieces of rock they carried were equally heavy. Ray and Antoine were checking it out, bragging about how their respective brother and lover were stronger.

Charmy was speaking to Lily and Amy. "They've told me you're lesbians…so from which part of Lesbia are you two?" "Er…Charmy, I think we need to talk." Espio said awkwardly. Amy and Lily couldn't help but giggle at Charmy's obviousness.

"Unorthodox team, but effective. If you've learned how to put up with their weird antics." Knuckles stated. "I know the feeling!" Sonic said as he saw how Muttski told a joke to Jessie and Joanna: "Then Muttski said: 'No, but Muttski ate all the mayonnaise!'" and unlike Vector, they laughed at his joke, which made the him look annoyed.

"But I suddenly think about what Naugus said…if this Trinity thing he talked about is real…what battles shall we face in the future?" Tails wondered. "I don't think we need to worry, if we could handle Eggman and Naugus, and we have our friends at our side, what is there to worry about?" Sonic stated.

In the void, Ixis Naugus growled in anger. "They think that they can lock me inside the Void for another thousand years? No! I'll get out, and I'll get back. I'm going to make sure the new Trinity will fall and no other Trinity will be born in the future."

"I don't care about that trinity. I just want to make them pay for what they did to my darling Regina." Snively said sadly, holding her limp form in his arms, and one of her hands in his.

"And you shall. It's just a matter of time." Naugus assured him.

TO BE CONTINUED


	48. Destructix

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: DESTRUCTIX

Knuckles the Echidna had his own team for a few months now…The Chaotix quickly become good friends of him, but there was an empty void they couldn't fill in Knuckles' life. Knuckles looked over the cliff in the distance on Angel Island…this island used to be hidden from the world, but the veil that hid it from the world was lifted since the Freedom Fighters have landed on the island some time ago.

'…Darling…' a voice whispered in the wind. Knuckles was startled. He didn't dream that did he? 'Darling…' it continued, wouldn't leave him alone. Somewhere in the distance near the cliffs, he could vaguely make out a figure. He ran towards it, and as he neared the features became more visible as he could make out feminine curves, armor of sorts, dreads and pink fur…

But the figure leaned backwards and fell over the cliff in the bottom below as Knuckles shouted: "NO!" and she dropped down in a body of water near the bottom…odd that Knuckles didn't remember that body of water being there, but the figure fell in it and the body of water sprang to life, two big green eyes and a set of fangs becoming visible as it rose up to Knuckles and swallowed him.

Knuckles kept falling in a black bottomless void. He could see other figures, but they were vague, like the figure that fell of the cliff. Their voices were whispers, he couldn't understand them, yet he recognized the voices. Some of the figures were red like him, one orange, one pink like the figure he first saw, but then they disappeared. "Wait, come back, I need to see your faces…I need to know…" Knuckles said.

Knuckles suddenly felt himself land on something. He saw it was a giant hand, completely engulfed in a blue suit of sorts, and golden Shredder-like claws visible on it, as it soon started to close with Knuckles in it. Before the hand closed, Knuckles turned around to see the owner, but only made out a few dark staring eyes before he was engulfed.

"GAH!" Knuckles said as he woke up from his nightmares. It was the third time this week he got those nightmares. It involves images from the past, but he could barely make them out…he saw silhouettes, but no faces to go with it. It tortured him, he was close, yet so far.

But the pink one tortured him the most… 'Darling' he kept hearing. Was she someone important? Did he used to have a true love in his past life back when he knew his real name? And what was her name. Knuckles felt pained but had to shrug it off as the Chaotix saw him as their new leader, and he needed to look strong in their eyes…

Knuckles entered the Emerald shrine again, where his comrades were minding their own business. Charmy, a comic book fan who was without comics at the moment, tried to pass time by trying to draw his own comic book. Knuckles had to admit, Charmy knew how to draw. Vector was listening music on his headphones, Espio meditated, Mighty was lifting weights, with huge rocks as the weights, Ray performed some acrobatic tricks from his time at the circus and Heavy and Bomb were tinkering with some machinery.

"No I say we need a tripolar connection, not a bipolar." Heavy argued with his sibling. Bomb beeped. "You heard that? 'Talk to the hand', he said!"

As he saw Heavy and Bomb arguing, and see Mighty give a friendly noogie to Ray, he felt something. Siblings… There was a sense of familiarity about it that Knuckles couldn't place. Did he have a sibling too once?

"Hey Knuckles, check out these! Heavy and Bomb made them for me!" Charmy said as he showed his new gauntlets, which had two short retractable stinger-like blades hidden in them, and which could spark with electricity.

"They also converted my headphones into a weapon for sonic waves…but I can't demonstrate that since it would take the place down." Vector added. "Sounds impressive. Anything else?" Knuckles wondered.

"We're working on an automatic defense system, in case any of us shouldn't be around to protect the Master Emerald. Best idea I ever had." Heavy explained. Bomb beeped. "Okay, the best idea WE ever had."

Knuckles stared intensely at the giant emerald. He knew it was his duty to protect it, but why? Isn't he wasting time in here while the answers might be out there? As he stared intensely in the emerald, he could swear images started to appear in it. One in particular, that of the pink silhouette he used to see in his dreams…she started to become clearer. He could now make out she was an echidna like him…

"K-k-knuckles? You okay?" Ray asked shyly. Knuckles snapped out of it as he muttered: "Er…yeah, just a bit tired, that's all. I just got up you know." Espio briefly opened his left eye, like he suspects something, but closes it again and continues meditating.

"We should get to wash ourselves, you all coming to the river for a scrub?" Vector asked. "Er…I'll wash myself later." Charmy said blushing. "We're all guys in here. It's not we swing that way or anything. But you're awfully shy when it comes to getting changed or bathing." Vector stated. "So what?" Charmy groaned. "Let him, but if he starts to smell, we grab a hose." Knuckles noted.

Meanwhile somewhere else, a group of Mobians were teleported in a flash of green light. "Er…guys, how in the name of the Walkers did we get here?" One of them said. He was a blue hawk with red gloves and boots as well as goggles. "I don't know, that green flash has transported us to a new location." A gorilla in military gear said.

"Is it a game? I love playing games, but I like to know when playtime begins!" a frog in baggy pants, pilot goggles, brown boots and a white scarf said. "I think someone is just wasting our time." A Mobian bee, much like Charmy but with a blue helmet and a visor said.

"I'm hungry." A white wolf in a purple jacket groaned. A lynx with black hair, blue boots and gloves groaned as he said: "Seriously, you're always hungry. I'm surprised you still fit in your clothes."

It was then that a large figure in a cloak loomed over them. "I want to excuse myself for this unexpected events. But I am in most dire need of your services. The Destructix, that's what they call you isn't it?" he asked them.

"What's it to ya?" the wolf asked. "I'm most willing to pay you a decent amount if you do something for me." The stranger added. "How much?" the hawk asked. The stranger pulled a cane from his cloak and waved it, and in a flash of green light conjured a pile of gold. Most of the bounty hunters, minus the lynx's eyes all started to turn in dollar signs.

"We're listening…" the gorilla said. "There is a group of Mobians calling themselves the Chaotix living on this island. I want you to find them and give them a challenge. Just fight them, nothing more. But keep them alive…for now." The stranger asked. "But that's not how I play! I play until the game is finished, in every way!" the frog asked.

"Then you don't want the gold…which you can buy many toys with, Mercian. Yes, I know you come from Mercia…your real name is Farrensworth Frog, but you call yourself Flying. You used to be a jester, turned serial killer before your eventual banishment." The stranger explained.

"Okay, you know much about Flying Frog, but how?" the hawk asked. "I have my ways…Colonel Patrick Hawk of the Battle Bird Armada, or is it Predator Hawk now? You left the armada if I recall…" the stranger said. He then turned to each of the others.

"Simon Simian, aka Sgt. Simian, former army officer who did everything to win, even putting the lives of his men on the line when he didn't need to?

Lightning Lynx, once betrothed to the bride of the Raiju Clan, only to run off at the altar when you realized the one you thought you loved is incapable of loving you as a person, rather than a possession?

Drago Wolf, who once sought the hand of Lupe, leader of the wolves and after failing to assassinate her husband was banished in disgrace?

And Mello…you gave up your entire colony for your own gain."

"You need to discard something to gain something old man. That's how life is." Mello stated. "Flying likes how Mello plays." Flying added. "Yeah, you know much about us, and that might be creepy, but we get paid, so we just need to fight those Chaotic dudes?" Predator asked.

"Indeed, and depending on how you'll do, you might find yourself in a position to do more paying jobs for me in the future." The stranger said. "But since you are working for me now, you need to play by my rules. Rule number one, I need you to work with one of my own men." The stranger said as he snapped his fingers.

Someone who looked exactly like Knuckles, only with a black beret on his head, came from the shadows smirking. "Hello laddies!" he said in an Irish accent. "You got to be kidding me…" Drago growled. But the Knuckles look-a-like grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the tree. "Do I look like I'm kidding?" Drago shook his head in fear as the not-Knuckles dropped him.

"Now…get to work. I'm counting on it!" the stranger said as he and the gold vanished. "You heard the man. Easy money ahead!" Predator stated.

The Chaotix were having lunch. "Hey look at this!" Vector said as he shoved a straw up his nose. "That's disgusting!" Charmy said. "No, it's in the palm of my hand, see!" Vector said as he showed the straw was still in his hand, it was a mere trick.

It was then that the Destructix showed up, and they jumped up from the sky, right on the picnic table, kicking the food around and taking bites from it. "Hey, who are you? And what do you think you're doing?" Knuckles growled.

"You the Chaotix?" Drago asked as he took a bite from a drumstick and talked with his mouth full. "Yeah, so? You got a problem with us?" Mighty asked. "No…" Simian said as he punched Mighty, taking him by surprise as he sent the armadillo flying. "But that doesn't mean we need a reason to fight you."

"Oh, it's a fight you want, a fight you get. Get them boys!" Knuckles said as they charged forward. "Er…what? Oh yeah, us!" Charmy said, being slow to catch on for some reason.

Knuckles jumped up and readied himself to punch Simian, but something tackled him out of the air and pinned him against the wall. Knuckles found himself surprised to see his doppelganger staring at him. "What the…am I no longer the last echidna?" Knuckles asked.

"Well lad, I'm not really an echidna…I see I'm a copy of you, plain and simple." He stated. "What? Who created you and why?" Knuckles asked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" fake Knuckles said as he raised his fist to punch Knuckles, who caught the fist in his hands as he headbutted his counterpart and delivered a few punches on him, but the fake Knuckles recovered, dodged under the last punch and delivered a few in return to Knuckles. The two locked fists and tried to push each other back.

Mighty had recovered and now faced Simian in combat. Simian then tried to punch him again, but Mighty wasn't caught off guard this time and dodged, before delivered a punch to Simian, sending him flying in a tree, breaking it in half. Simian grabbed the broken tree and used it as a flail, but Might broke the tree with another punch. Simian grabbed a grenade from his belt and tossed it at Mighty, who curled up in a ball as the blast sent him flying back but his shell still stood strong. He then, still in ball form shot forward and bowled over Simian.

Predator chased Ray around in the sky. As he flew he tried swiping his razor-sharp claws at Ray, but he dodged each time. Ray was very agile so he had a slight advantage, but Predator had more combat training. Ray flew up and kicked Predator Hawk, who then grabbed his foot and tossed him a tree, as he flew forward with claws stretched out. Ray dodged and Predator became stuck in the tree with his claws. Ray then flew at his face and started delivering some swift punches, but since he wasn't physically very strong it didn't hurt Predator much, who pinned Ray in the tree with his free hand. "I'll rip you to shreds!" Predator threatened.

"Leave him alone!" Mighty said as he grabbed an unconscious Simian and used him as a hammer to whap Predator Hawk with. Hawk was sent flying. "You okay?" Mighty asked. "Y-y-yeah." Ray said relieved.

Vector faced off against Flying Frog. They both were very agile and managed to dodge each of the others' attacks, but not land any of their own. Flying then launched his tongue, which wrapped around Vector's neck, who slowly was being choked. "Little croc is going down, falling down, on the ground, little croc is going down, and he won't get up!" Flying sang in the tune of 'London Bridge if falling down'.

Vector reached for his headphones and pushed a button, and Flying was hit by a sonic sound wave, making him let go and sent him flying. "How you like the music?" Vector asked. "What?" Flying asked as he put his hand behind his ear, being deaf from the soundwave. Vector then punched Flying Frog. The amphibian staggered before he recovered and wanted to launch his tongue again, but Vector kicked his lower jaw, making him bite his tongue and scream out in pain. Vector then delivered another punch and knocked him out.

Lightning and Espio were locked in combat, both matching one another's moves due to both of them being capable martial artists. "You fight good, Shinobi." Lightning complimented. "You too Raiju!" Espio complimented back. They both locked hands and flipped each other in the air, delivered a simultaneous flying kick at one another, making them bounce of one another. They landed back on the ground on their both feet.

They both pulled out a throwing weapon, a kunai for Espio and a shuriken for Lightning. They both tossed them at one another, at first appearing to have hit one another, but in Espio's place was now an empty suit and in Lightning's place a straw puppet.

They reappeared on different places on the battlefield. They both had a smirk on their face. "You haven't forgotten about honor, despite being with them." Espio said as he gestured at the other Destructix. "Complex past…you must have one too if you're here on this island." Lightning pointed out. Espio didn't reply.

But there was something with the fight Charmy and Mello. Charmy was going bat guano insane and attacked mercilessly with his electric stinger weapons. Mello could only dodge. "You did it! You gave them away! You betrayed us all to Eggman, because of you the Golden Hive no longer exists. They're all gone because of you." he shouted at him. Mello kept calm through it all however. "Something tells me you're not happy to see me, Charmy-chan!" he replied casually.

"Because of you, mom, dad, uncle Jeepers, my lil sis…they're all dead! Why did you do it Mello? I thought you were my friend!" Charmy growled angrily as he thrusted one of his stingers forward, but Mello caught his arm and twisted it behind his back. "I did it for you, Charmy-Chan…you and I were both trapped! Destined to become mere workers, while we wanted more. We wanted to explore the world outside the colony, we wanted to be free. That's why you were the only one I warned before Eggman attacked. You are the only one to share my desire of freedom." Mello explained.

"Still, gave you no right to do it! My family's dead! I'll never forgive you." Charmy cried. "Oh Charmy-chan, you're so naïve. They were holding you back. To gain freedom, you had to discard them, and I helped you with that…to gain something you need to discard something." Mello said softly. "Lemme go!" Charmy said as he struggled in Mello's grip.

"Do they know who you really are, Charmy? You know I do!" Mello said as he kissed Charmy on the cheek and tossed him to the ground. Charmy blushed, but tried covering it. "I knew you still liked me." Mello mocked. "You know Charmy-chan, you can come with me, if you discard those Chaoti…" But Mello was tossed out of the air when Predator Hawk collided with him after being tossed around by Mighty.

"You fool!" Mello growled at Predator. Charmy saw his chance and used his stingers to shock both of them unconscious with his electric stingers. Once they were down, Charmy dropped on his knees and cried.

Drago saw Heavy and Bomb and laughed: "A teapot and a bowling ball, really? Oh my god, this it too much, I'm nearly pissing myself." Heavy became annoyed and stepped on Drago's foot. The wolf grabbed his foot in pain and hopped up and down. Bomb aimed his fuse at Drago's butt and shot a small burst of fire from it, roasting his tail and making him jump up and yell out in pain. Heavy caught him in mid-air and tossed him into a tree. The mechanical brothers high-fived.

Knuckles and his doppelganger still fought, and had matched each other blow for blow. But the doppelganger saw form the corner from his eyes how the Destructix were no match for the Chaotix and he said: "Well, laddy, it appears you win this round, but you haven't seen the last of us! Bye!" the fake Knuckles said as he snapped his fingers and he and the Destructix teleported away. "Who were those guys?" Knuckles wondered.

The Chaotix had regrouped and had started to talk about the recent events. "There is a doppelganger of you showing up, and he brings along a group of bounty hunters. What is going on?" Mighty wondered. "I dunno, but they must have had an employer. The question is 'who can it be?'" Knuckles noted.

"And Charmy…why did that other bee kiss you on the cheek?" Ray asked. Charmy blushed as everyone stared at him. Charmy sighed and took off his helmet, revealing long black flowing hair underneath. He then pulled something out of his shirt, which looked like padding. His young male figure not looked feminine without it. "Charmy, you're a girl?" Mighty asked surprised. Heavy and Bomb, and Ray were all surprised, but for some reason Vector, Espio and Knuckles weren't.

"I knew it…you were always alone when you got changed or bathed, you became feministic about the female superheroes in your comics, and the fact male bee's don't have actual stingers confirmed my suspicion." Vector said. They all looked surprised at Vector. "Hey, I'm a detective!" Vector explained.

"I saw it in her eyes…but said nothing because she probably had a reason to remain silent." Espio said. "I didn't know, but I felt it in my gut." Knuckles replied. Charmy sighed. "Yes, I'm a girl. I pretend to be a boy because…I wanted to be a soldier bee, not a worker bee but as a girl bee you don't get that chance. I wanted to be like the super heroines from the comics. The only one who understood me was Mello, the bee I fought. He grew up without parents and his foster family didn't pay much attention to him. He showed signs of being sociopath, but until he betrayed the Golden Hive I never knew how much…"

"Why keep that a secret? We're not that prejudiced." Knuckles assured her. "After the sadness of losing my family I wanted to start over with a new life, a new persona." Charmy explained.

Espio looked uneasy. "I kind of understand that. You see…I also have a secret. I'm the son of the Bride of the Shinobi Clan in Chun-Nan. I am destined to become the future Lord. But I couldn't live with the responsibilities and ran away. I probably broke my mother's heart, and the heart of my fiancée. Yes, the marriage was arranged, but I really loved her…" he said sadly.

"If we're spilling the beans…to be honest, I come from a family of bandits from Mercia. My parents stole from the higher class and gave to the poor. My parents were captured and hung by a bastard named Hood and my sister was taken from me…up to this day I never knew what happened to her. So when I found Ray, alone and helpless, I saw Matilda in him and thereby treat him as a little brother." Mighty said.

"I-I-I also have a secret. The circus my parents worked in was threatened by some mobsters. When the ringmaster refused to pay them, they sabotaged the stage and resulted in my parents…I saw someone weird near the stage that day, but shrugged it off. I should have been suspicious, warned someone but I didn't…" Ray said crying, Mighty hugging him in comfort.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't know." Mighty assured him. Everyone looked at Vector. "What you expect me to confess? I just was an orphan from Downunda who had to work from a very young age for every little penny I needed to pay for my detective training. No easy life, but I managed." Vector stated.

"You already know about me and Bomb here being treacherous Eggman bots…though how we developed free will we'll never know." Heavy stated. Bomb bleeped.

"I'm having nightmares lately. Nightmares from my past. But it's just that I can't remember much. I realized lately that I might have a family, and a lover. But I barely remember their faces, let alone their names…" Knuckles said, who tried holding back tears.

"Don't keep strong for us, boss! You're Mobian after all. We all had hectic and chaotic lives, why you think we call ourselves the Chaotix?" Vector said, patting Knuckles' back.

"Yeah, you got us! We have one another to support. We're not in this alone. You can trust us." Espio assured. Knuckles finally let out his tears and said: "Thanks guys…"

With the stranger, the Destructix and fake Knuckles had rejoined him. "We fought them, we lost. We're not getting the money, do we?" Predator Hawk. "On the contraire. You were supposed to test them, and you did. But if you continue to work with me, I can pay you a lot more. The first sum I offered will be a scratch compared to what I can offer in the future." The stranger said.

"How did you actually get that much money?" Simian asked. "I managed to acquire a lot of money in a lifetime, and my lifetime has been longer then probably any other person you know…" the stranger replied.

From behind him, the fake Sonic that the real Sonic defeated a while ago, now wearing a black leather jacket, and a copy of Tails, also wearing biker gear, appeared behind him. The fake Knuckles joined him.

"I have more plans, plans that can change the world itself, and if you want to be part of it, you just have to say yes, and you'll receive money, power beyond your wildest dreams, or in some of your cases, a real purpose."

The Destructix smirked as they agreed, though Lightning did so reluctantly. "With my very own Dark Trinity at my side, I'll soon acquire the means to become the undisputed ruler of this world…"

TO BE CONTINUED


	49. End of the Badnik era I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE: END OF THE BADNIK ERA, PART I

An entire month has passed since Ixis Naugus was sent back into the Void, and for now the heroes were enjoying themselves. But most of the time when our heroes start to enjoy themselves, something would always come up and ruin the fun. But when that's going to be, is anyone's guess for now.

Sally and Tails had been working on a plan to disable the one target nearly as important as the Death Egg: the Central Badnik Battery. A large computer, connecting several satellite networks that Eggman owes, controlled by a large AI who makes all the wearers of the Badnik suits Eggman's slaves. Taking down the satellites would have been possible if the Freedom Fighters had a ship that could travel to space, but instead they had to attack the Central Battery directly.

The Freedom Fighters tried to fill their time to not get uneasy, like sparring, training and hanging out. Lily just took her morning coffee as she passed Amy, who was carrying some laundry away, and pinched her butt as she passed, Amy letting out a surprised but delighted 'eep' as they passed, as Muttski asked Bunnie and Antoine to taste a new recipe he was working on.

Sonic and Fiona were playing video games, and for someone who runs really fast, Sonic was lousy when it comes to playing racing games as Fiona beat him for the fifth time today. Dulcy sat isolated in a corner, something she's been doing since she was in the Arctic. But where Rotor was…

"Guys, Charles has sent us another message." He said as he came in, carrying the messenger Dove on his arm and the message in his hand. "Great, let's see what my Unc has for us!" Sonic said as he dropped the controller.

Sonic grabbed the message and let it play, a holographic image of Uncle Chuck playing. "Sonny…If you see this, this will be my last message for a while; The mods with the Power Ring to my suit are wearing off. Without Eggman to keep the Central Battery under control, the AI inside is starting to go out of control, it's adaptability function becomes stronger and stronger…I'm going to revert to a Badnik soon, and even the Eternity Ring wouldn't be able to help me…

The only thing I can do is send all the remaining data I have on Metropolis with this message, you must disable it as soon as possible, it has become aware and seeks conquest on its own. I must also say, I tracked down some family members of your friends. I put them in stasis so they aren't a danger to themselves, and that they're all together when it becomes time to reunite. I'm going to put myself in stasis too. Take down that battery now, before another war begins!" Uncle Chuck stated as the image faded and the message ended.

"It appears that we are going after that Central Battery sooner than anticipated. Can you pass me the message?" Sally noted. Sonic handed the message to Sally as she pulled out Nicole's handheld, who downloaded the Metropolis data from it. "In the message are the remaining schematics of the city, the parts on which we had no or not sufficient data. Now we can complete the plan we've been working on for weeks and move out." Nicole explained. "And end the suffering of those who are prisoners to the suits." Tails added. "And our families with it." Bunnie said.

The heroes had gathered in front of Metropolis. They have never actually been inside it, since they weren't experienced enough at the time, Eggman was still in charge to keep things running smoothly and they had less tech, skills and allies. But this time they had to enter this place. Going down here was pretty much hell. It is the place Eggman's darkest inventions were created, it was the place Bunnie and Nicole became cyborgs before they were put in stasis at Scrap Brain, and it's where the largest army of Eggman robots live.

"Okay, you all have your tasks! No time to waste! Tonight the Badnik era ends. I wish I could say to be careful, but we know we can't be. But to give the people their freedom back, to prevent them from being puppets any longer, to end Eggman's empire completely." Sally said. The Freedom fighters cheered for Sally's words.

"You have a way with words, Sal." Sonic complimented. "Once we get into the action, talk will be cheap. Let's move out!" Sally said. Sonic picked her up and they rushed off inside the city. They would be the scouting ahead, using Sonic's speed and Sally's brainpower to be a few steps ahead.

Muttski, Rotor and Dulcy would be the distraction, making sure all attention would be drawn to them. Since Muttski is good at drawing attention and Rotor and Dulcy were the most destructive thanks to their gear. "Muttski is always the bait, Muttski so hates the writer for this!" Muttski moaned. "Say what?" Rotor asked confused. "Never mind." Muttski said.

A group of Egg Pawns was patrolling as Muttski jumped out, shouting: "Henshin!" and once again Muttski changed outfits, cosplaying, now being clad in red spandex and wearing a helmet. "Silly Hero, BakaReddo!" Muttski said. The Egg Pawns stared at one another in confusion first, but then opened fire on Muttski, who backflipped to dodge the laser fire.

Muttski then pulled out a sword as he charged forward, the laser shots missing him as he slashed at the Egg Pawns. He then changed his sword into a blaster as he said: "Special Technique! Engrish Scrambular!" he said as he fired at the Egg Pawns, obliterating them. "And they said watching Japanese shows is bad for Muttski!"

Rotor grabbed out a few EMP bombs, who fried the circuits of the robots around them. Some more came in, as Rotor pulled out a different bomb, which he tossed in the air. He detonated it using the signal, and the bomb split in half, and tiny, smaller yellow specks flew from it, covering the area. Rotor took cover as the tinier specks from inside the bomb detonated and leveled the district.

Dulcy had trouble flying lately, normally because she didn't feel much joy, but if she was full of something, it was anger, and the streams of fire she shot out of her hand were huge and had strength that would have made the Deforestation tank look like nothing. Egg Pawns were melted down into puddles once she was through with them and they didn't have time to react as the spread and the force of the fire stream was too intense thanks to Dulcy's troubled emotions. "Who wants some more?" she shouted angrily as she panted.

Sonic and Sally were ahead, and now they were close to the palace. "Okay, team alpha, you're up next!" Sally said over her communicator. From the air, Tori, piloted by Tori, with jet-boosters using Bunnie and Antoine, Lily and Amy on hoverboards shooting down.

The turrets around the palace started aiming and shooting at them, but Tori couldn't be hit. "Heh! Figures Eggbelly's forces couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!" Tori said as she unleashed her own artillery on the turrets, taking them down.

"Yee-haw!" Bunnie said as she fired her arm cannons and took down some turrets. "Ready, Lilybel?" Amy asked. "Born ready, Sugarmuffin!" Lily replied as they pulled out their respective arrows and darts and unleashed them on the turrets. The magic nature of the arrows and the explosive ones of the darts made short work of them.

Antoine dropped down from his hoverboard as he started slicing up some guards with his swords. Several guards aimed their rifles at him, but he pulled another Pawn in front of him as a shield, and when the Egg Pawns reloaded, Antoine sprung in action, rushed at them and sliced them to bits. "Viva la resistance!" Antoine shouted.

Once the turrets were down, Fiona jumped out of Tori, as the latter transformed into Mecha mode and the others got to the ground and continued fighting on the ground. Several tanks, piloted by Eggman robots came rolling in. "I got this one!" Bunnie said as she fired at one of the tanks, blowing it's top off. Fiona jumped on top of it, pulled the pilot out and tossed it away and jumped in, taking control of it.

"I notice you make a habit of hijacking vehicles, where did you learn to do that?" Tori asked. "Grand Theft auto!" Fiona replied as she used her hijacked tank to blow up the others. Tori used her own arsenal, while Bunnie used her cannons, Amy her arrows and Lily her darts, they managed to handle the tanks pretty well.

"Antoine, Tails, you're with us!" Sally said. Antoine and Tails went after Sonic and Sally as they entered the complex. "Okay, we're nearly at the Badnik Battery, we just need to have Nicole do her work, but be careful, we're not out of danger yet." Sally instructed.

"When are we ever?" Sonic said. They got deeper inside the HQ that used to belong to Eggman, as something swooped down and barely missed our heroes. They saw a smaller version of the Silver Sonic unit Sonic had faced on the Winged Fortress. "Let me handle this one. You go ahead. We need Tails and Nicole's combined brainpower for this one." Sonic said as he told the others to go on.

"Will you be fine?" Sally asked. "I will be, trust me." Sonic said. Sally nodded as she and the others went on ahead. Sonic briefly took a peek in the storage compartment in his gauntlet, showing a small ring with a green gemstone encrusted. "I need to be…if I want to pop the question later on." Sonic said as he closed the compartment and rushed at Silver Sonic. The robot fired several missiles, which Sonic agilely dodged before running up the wall and homing attack Silver Sonic out of the air.

Silver Sonic landed as Sonic bounced on its back, disabling it's jetpack. But Silver Sonic was far from finished as he got up and kicked Sonic off. But Sonic landed on his feet and prepared himself. "You know, I'm tired of metal copies. When will they learn. THERE IS ONLY ONE ME!" Sonic said as he and Sonic rushed towards one another.

Sally, Antoine and Tails went to the lower levels, close the basement. They slashed and smashed their way through robot as they continued. "How far eez eet?" Antoine asked. "Not much longer, it's just ahead." Nicole replied.

They came inside a large room, and there it stood: a huge computer, and it had something of a lantern-like shape. Inside the screen, they saw a holographic face. It had no features except red eyes and a mouth. "Intruders detected…Identifying Freedom Fighters Antoine Depardieu, Sally Acorn and Miles Prower, computer unit Nicole supporting…Statement: make sure they don't get in the way of domination plan." It said in a deep monotone voice.

"Whatever your name is, today we release the innocents trapped inside the Badnik suit and you won't get in our way." Sally said.

"I am the Autonomous Digital Assault Microbe, or A.D.A.M. for short. Fate of organics is not of importance…temporary carbon-based life forms are obsolete, and only good for fuel sources for Badnik units." The computer program said.

"Well, Ad-dumb, we'll delete you and show you what we carbon-based lifeforms can do!" Tails said. Several turrets popped from the wall and aimed themselves at our heroes. Antoine fired the rifle he snagged of an Egg Pawn, Sally used the laser in Nicole's handheld, and Tails some wind spells he learned from observing Snively to disable them.

"Guards…" Adam said, not commanding, but still monotone. However, Nicole wirelessly hacked the doors and shut them down. "Impressive, but you can only take away so much control of me, I'm the superior program." Adam said. "Why don't we get in the digital realm and find out?" Nicole said as the faces of both Nicole and Adam vanished on their screens.

"To make sure your friends don't get bored, I'll leave them a gift." Adam said. Three pods behind the battery opened, one revealing a bulky and clunky looking Metallix, a blank Metallix protoform and a doll-like robot that looked like Tails that had an antenna with a red crystal.

"Prototype Metallix unit 'Pseudo Sonic', the last known Metallix Protoform and Operation 'Deadly Cuddles…They should take care of you." Adam stated. The blank Metallix's eyes glowed, as it scanned Sally. The Metallix then changed colors and shapes, and now she was a Metallix version of Sally.

"Copycats…now I know how Sonic's bruised ego feels." Sally noted as she pulled out her tonfa. The Metallix Sally also grabbed two tonfa as the two rushed at each other. Tails went after Pseudo Sonic as Antoine faced the Tails doll.

Sally and Metallix Sally clashed tonfas, each of them parrying each other perfectly. Sally kicked the Metallix in the face, who in return kneed her stomach. She tried clawing at Sally, who leaned back and tried to kick her face, but the Metallix leaned back to dodge as well. They both combined their tonfa into bo staffs as they continued parrying. Sally blocked a swipe from Metallix Sally as she jumped back and used her bo staff to launch a jump kick, knocking Metallix Sally back, but she recovered quickly and swatted at her organic counterpart.

Sally pulled out her sword as the Sally Metallix protruded a glowing blade form her upper left arm. The two clashed blades, once again being on par with one another. "Stop copying me!" Sally said as she connected her blade to her staff to create a scythe, the Metallix doing the same. The Metallix moved closer, but using her scythe as a hook she grabs the Metallix and slams it in the ground, but the Metallix recovers and slams the back of her scythe into Sally. None of them would be winning the fight soon.

Tails noticed that despite its clunky design that the Pseudo Sonic was quite fast, though not as fast as Sonic. But it was fast enough to catch Tails off-guard and use a super speed punch to knock him back. Tails recovered and rushed at him, swatting the clunky machine with his tails. But it recovered and curled up in a ball. It tried to spin-jump into Tails, but Tails flew up to dodge. He swoops down to launch a vertical tail slash, but Pseudo rolls out of the way.

Antoine thought the Tails doll looked cute but he knew that if it was made by Eggman, he couldn't hold back and rushed at it. But it fired red lightning from the crystal on it's antenna, and Antoine was forced to roll aside to dodge. He tried to reach for the Egg rifle, but it was blasted to bits and Antoine was forced to dodge again. He had to think of a way to get close, but how?

Nicole in her armor appeared in the digital realm, while Adam did the same in a humanoid robotic form. "You may have been able to hack advanced programs in the past, but this unit is invincible, adapts faster than you can destroy it." Adam boasted. "For a program you talk a lot." Nicole held her digital buster sword in one hand, a digi-katana in the other. Adam didn't pull any weapons but just stood there, waiting for Nicole.

Nicole rushed at him, but Adam created a wall in front of him, which Nicole broke apart with her buster sword. But Adam created two huge tentacles from the floor, one of which snagged the buster sword and another one who nearly missed Nicole as it digged into the floor in front of her. Nicole fended off the attacks of her own buster sword with her katana, before she pulled the other and blocked it, then snatched her sword back. She sheeted her katanas as she caught the buster sword in her hand and shattered both tentacles. "Too afraid to fight me directly? Wouldn't blame you, always hiding behind these tricks to cover up for something." Nicole taunted.

"It has been a while since an advanced program tried taking me head-on, I could use the exercise." Adam said as he pulled out a digi-sword as well. He rushed at her with greater speed then Nicole anticipated as she was forced to rapidly block, but Adam knees Nicole in the stomach before backhanding her, sending her flying. He disappears and reappears behind her, putting his hands together and slamming her into the ground. "Is this all an advanced program as you have to offer?" he asks. "Not at all…because I ain't just any program." Nicole stated.

Fiona's group had finished off all the tanks and foot soldiers outside. "Oh yeah! Who rules? We rule!" Tori cheered for herself. "Whoa, you're really on fire today, Tori." Amy stated. "You kidding? Any time I can show off my stuff makes me happy. Anyone else want a shot at me? Come and get some." She shouted out.

"Er…you might not want to say that out too loud. You might jinx it." Fiona said worried. "Oh come on, you organics and your superstition…" Tori said. But they were cut off when giant metallic footsteps could be heard in the distance. "I take that back." Tori said.

A giant red Metallix approached Fiona's group. It looked like the one EggRobo used against the Chaotix, but more refined and better built. It was no prototype, it had its own AI, so this one would be far tougher then it's predecessor. The Titan Metallix roared.

"I think Sonic seriously should sue Eggman for copyright laws." Tori noted. "Okay, let's not have this giant hunk of junk intimidate us. The bigger they are, the harder they fall…only how are we going to make it fall?" Fiona stated.

Muttski's group just had finished the group of Egg Pawns. Muttski was still cosplaying in his Sentai outfit. "You know what would make this complete? A giant robot!" Muttski noted. "One; you look ridiculous, and two; be careful what you wish for." Rotor stated. "What's the worst that can happen?" Muttski asked.

A shadow was cast over the three as something big and metallic came out of the air and landed in front of them. It was a Titan Metallix, but unlike the one Fiona's group faced, this one looked like Tails, rather than Sonic.

"Does this answer your question?" Dulcy asked annoyed. "And unless you can pull out a giant mech from your pocket, we're going to have a hard time." Rotor noted. "If Muttski could do that, the story would be over long ago!" Muttski pointed out. "What?" Dulcy and Rotor asked. "Never mind." Muttski said.

Sonic jumped over a spin-dashing Silver Sonic, as the latter uncurled itself. Sonic saw the opening and spin-jumped on his head, shattering the top of the metallic skull as it sparked and fell down lifelessly. "I'm glad that's over. Now, let's see if Sal, Ant and Tails could use my help."

But Sonic wasn't allowed to leave. A hole in the floor opened, as a bigger version of Silver Sonic, as large as the Titan Metallix erupted from the floor. It was as big as the first Silver Sonic, only modified. "Sure, I can have that too. But I don't care if it's freakin' Godzilla, I'm tired of crap being thrown at me!" Sonic said as he prepared for another fight.


	50. End of the Badnik era II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY: END OF THE BADNIK ERA, PART II

Last time, our heroes have infiltrated the lair of the beast, Metropolis. While the beast that is Eggman is dead, the lair itself is pretty much alive. The Central Badnik Battery is still functional, and the heroes are confronted by a series of Metallix and artificial doppelgangers in any form or shape.

The huge Silver Sonic had raised his fist as he tries to slam it down onto Sonic, who used his speed to dodge, then run up the arm and home in on the head, knocking it back. The giant Silver Sonic shook his head, then recomposed himself as he raised his quills, which he fired like razor sharp boomerangs, which Sonic barely dodged, before they returned to him. "Oof…talk about a close shave."

Silver Sonic's eyes glowed as he fired red lasers, and Sonic once again had to dodge. Sonic ran up a wall and kicked off, jumping in between the lasers as he homing attacked on the head again, and when Silver Sonic was shaken, Sonic landed on his shoulders and used his axe kick to shatter one of its eyes. "Eye for an eye! That's for copying me!" Sonic mocked.

Silver Sonic tried to grab Sonic of his shoulder, but Sonic jumped over the hand and dropped on the ground again. "Wait up a bit, I got a new trick to show off." Sonic said as he ran into the distance, out of sight. Sonic then took a position that made him look like an Olympic athlete ready to start running. Then he zoomed off, Sonic moving as fast as his feet could, and in a short moment where time seemed to slow down, Sonic busted through the sound barrier and his speed instantly doubled.

"Sonic Boom!" Sonic shouted as he rushed at the Silver Sonic, a mach cone of sorts appearing in front of him as she sped right into the giant mech, and the enhanced speed boost knocked the much larger machine into the wall, the giant mech went limp. "Oof, that was a nice workout. Now if you excuse me, gotta help the others…" Sonic said as he rushed at the lab where the Central Battery was.

"You shall not interfere!" Adam's voice said as a trap door opened in front of Sonic, who couldn't stop in time as he fell in, seeing the spikes at the bottom coming closer, but he curled up into a ball and hardened his quills and cut the spikes to pieces, as he dug himself into the ground.

He dug into the ground and fell through in a hidden room under the spike pit. This was the basement of Eggman's castle. Sonic looked around. "Phew, luckily quills that can pop robots are hard enough to not let myself be skewered…boring place." Sonic noted. He looked around and saw several pods. But most of them were empty. Probably more cyborg experiments that hadn't survived and were disposed off.

Sonic saw a single pod was occupied. He wiped away the damp on the window of the pod, and was surprised to see who was imprisoned inside. "Dr. Namgge?" It was indeed Namgge. Not Eggman, but the doctor that used to be Uncle Chuck's friend, no evil energy being, just the good old doctor. He looked thinner and older, and was balding but had no big mustache and no cybernetics. "Is this a clone? Or a trick? Or is it the real thing? If so, then whose tyranny have I been fighting for all these years?" Sonic wondered.

Sally had been slammed down into the ground by Metallix Sally really hard last time. She raised her scythe and prepared to finish her off, but Sally rolled out of the way and use her scythe to disarm Metallix Sally and grab her scythe. She then used the combined scythes to lash at Metallix Sally, who blocked using small shields she generated from her arms, but with her main weapon gone and the fact Sally had both of them, she was forced on the defensive.

Metallix Sally was forced on her knees as Sally swiftly and violently kept smashing her scythes into the shields over and over again. Metallix Sally looked like she was finished. However, the part of her that looked like Sally's hair opened up and a laser popped up and fired at Sally, hitting her in the chest. Luckily Sally's vest was equipped with special padding that reduced the damage (a caution Tails thought off) but she was knocked back and forced to drop both scythes.

Metallix Sally picked up both as she used jet boosters to chase after Sally, who was forced to the defensive this time, using her acrobatics and agility to dodge. Sally waited for an opening and she got one as Metallix Sally swiped violently with Sally's scythe and slammed it into the ground, only to get the point stuck. Sally kicked Metallix Sally off, who let go of Sally's scythe. Sally took back her scythe and with a swift strike, she dug the blade into Metallix Sally's chest, whose eyes flickered and who sparked before she shut down.

Sally sighed as she wiped her forehead, finally having defeated her doppelganger in a long and grueling fight. But things started to look down again as the giant Silver Sonic busted through the wall, damaged but very active. "Oh, can't I get a break?" Sally moaned.

Tori morphed in plane form (auto-pilot this time), flew up and unleashed a barrage of projectiles on Titan Metallix Sonic. He covered himself with his arms to dodge before he swiped with his hands, Tori avoiding it using some aerial tricks. Fiona used the tank she hi-jacked to fire away at the giant's chest, as it staggered slightly but recovered and lifted it's big foot. Fiona jumped out of the tank as it was crushed under the behemoth's big foot. "There goes my ride." Fiona moaned.

Amy and Lily flew up using Extreme Gear, and Bunnie using her jet boosters and they tossed arrows, darts and cannon blasts at it, but despite leaving a few scratches, it didn't do much damage. "This thing is too big to fight. We can barely scratch it's shell!" Amy noted. "But what about the inside of the shell? Tori, can you give me a lift?" Fiona called out.

"Sure." Tori said. However, the Titan Metallix Sonic fired lasers from its eyes and shot one of Tori's wings off, but Tori morphed in mecha mode and safely landed. "Guess you'll have to climb your way up. We'll cover you!" Tori noted. "Right! Counting on you guys." Fiona said as she rushed at the Titan.

"Hey you big lunk! Your mother was a blender and your sister a toaster!" Tori said as she fired cannons from her mecha form's arms and distracted the giant as Fiona climbed onto its foot and climbed her way up. Bunnie fired her arm cannon to shoot the Titan in the eye, who growled and tried stomping on her, only to dodge, as Fiona hung on the leg as it moved. He moved up to the pelvis as Amy aimed one of her arrows at him, hitting it in the chest, but it didn't penetrate the outer layer and looked stuck. The Titan pulled it loose and picked his teeth with it.

She got to the upper body, as Lily zoomed past the Titan with her hoverboard and tossed exploding darts, which briefly blinded it. Fiona got onto the shoulder as the Titan breathed fire at Lily, who dodged, but the tip of her hat was slightly alight, which she extinguished by licking her fingers and squeezing the flame between her moist fingers.

Fiona got closer to the maw, which was still red and hot from the fire stream. She took the chance and jumped in, ignoring the heat around her as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She stabbed the flamethrower in the back of the throat with her dagger, before jumping down into the inner workings of the thing. Knowing not as much about technology as Tails, she just started wrecking everything in sight.

The Titan held his chest like he was having a heart attack. He realized something was inside him. He dug his own claw into his chest, and grabbed Fiona, pulling her out. Tori fired her arsenal at the hand, making the giant let go of Fiona, before Amy and Lily zoomed in and caught Fiona in the air. "Oof! That was too close for comfort!" Fiona sighed.

"She gave us an opening, literally!" Bunnie said as she pointed at the hole in the Titan's chest, where he had pulled Fiona out of his body. "Fire at will!" Tori said as her bullets flew, Bunnie fired her arsenal, Amy fired arrows and Lily tossed darts inside it, and they hit an important part of the giant mechanical brute, as an explosion occurred in his chest. It coughed up smoke as it fell to his knees and fell forward, the girls scattering to avoid getting crushed under the falling body.

The giant fell down, shut down and parts of his body exploded as he burned and sparked. "Ya-hoo! Next time pick on someone your own size." Tori cheered. "I just hope the others don't have to deal with this much crap…but knowing what place we're in, they probably are." Lily muttered.

Muttski screamed like a little girl as he nearly got swiped by Titan Metallix Tails' giant claws. Rotor tossed a bomb at him, but the Titan was too big to be actually damaged by the weapon. Dulcy roared as she unleashed a stream of fire from her hand. Though it was powerful, the stream only pushed the giant robot back, not actually damage it.

The Titan turned around and spins its tails to blow away the fire. Dulcy punched the wall in frustration. "Damnit! It won't die!" she growled. She has grown real aggressive in battle lately. "The fire might work, but only if it wasn't limited to firing in one direction then we could weaken its shields and blow it to kingdom come!" Rotor said.

"Muttski has idea, if Dulcy could try to use Dulcy's wind power to strengthen Dulcy's fire power, Dulcy can create a big fiery wind to roast Titan." Muttski said. Rotor and Dulcy look at him surprised. "Muttski saw that in an anime." "And you honestly think that will?" Dulcy asked. "We have no other choice, and you never know." Rotor said.

"Okay, here I go!" Dulcy said as she started running around the giant mech real fast, aided by her wind powers. The Titan noticed her and wanted to stomp on her, but Rotor tossed more bombs to distract it as Dulcy created a huge gust of wind, which soon turned in a tornado to engulf the Titan.

Though it was too big and heavy to be blown away, Dulcy then turned into a burst of fire using her fire power, and the tornado turned into a fire tornado to entrap the Titan Metallix Tails. He was clearly hurt by the heat as he let out a metallic roar of pain.

"Okay, he's weakening, bombs away!" Rotor said as he tossed all the bombs he had on him at the Titan Metallix. But it was still standing. "I only have my Dynamite Knuckle, but only if I could fly and punch him in the face.

"Leave that to Muttski!" Muttski pulled out a trampoline (don't ask). Rotor jumped on it, shot in the air and when he was on eye level with the Titan he punched him hard with the Boom Knuckle, not only shattering part of its place and knocking it back, but the charges blew up huge chunks of his face, as it fell down on his back and blew up.

"Muttski saves the day!" Muttski said. "You only pulled out a trampoline." Dulcy noted. "Without trampoline Rotor wouldn't have gotten to the face of Metallix." Muttski noted back. "I could give him a lift with my wind powers." Dulcy explained. Muttski dropped down anime style.

Tails avoided a spin jump by Pseudo Sonic. Tails has completely figured out it's pattern, which consisted of slower versions of Sonic's attacks. So all he had to do was dodge the Pseudo Sonic's attacks carefully. And by flying he already could dodge most attacks.

The Pseudo Sonic ran up a wall and kicked off it to spin jump at Tails, who flew backwards to fly out of the robotic knock-offs reach, and since it couldn't reach Tails he crashed into the ground. Tails just thrusted his Tails downward in drill fashion and once he pierced the robot, it's body parts were flung everywhere. "Lamest knock-off of my bro ever…minus that energy clone." Tails noted.

Antoine was forced to constantly dodge the lightningbolts fired by the Tails doll. He hid behind objects, which were blown up, and constantly jumped side to side. Antoine saw he couldn't get closer and tossed his sword, but the Tails doll shot it out of the air, and it was sent spinning and flying through the air, before a lightning bolt hit it's mark and sent Antoine flying, as he hit the ground, limp.

The Tails doll wanted to check if Antoine was alive as he got closer, only for Antoine to fake out the Tails doll and kick it in the face, grab his sword back and cut off the antenna with his sword. The Tails Doll sweatdropped. Antoine grabbed the cut off red crystal and put it on the handle of his sword, the blade crackling with red electricity as Antoine slashed the Tails doll once and after standing there for a few seconds, it fell apart into two perfect halves, under the fluffy exterior the circuitry inside being visible. "Zat is what you get for being too afraid to get up close in a fight." Antoine said.

Sonic had released Namgge from his pod, and carried his unconscious body out. Sonic had walked up some stairs while carrying the unconscious man. Near the top of the stairs was a dead end. He pushed the wall and it opened, revealing a secret wall in the same room where Sally, Antoine and Tails had been fighting their battles.

There he saw Sally fight against the big Silver Sonic, who tried punching Sally, but she backflipped and cut off his hand as she dodged. "That thing's still kicking?" Sonic asked surprised. Sally jumped up and readied to slice at Silver Sonic with her scythe, but the giant machine grabbed her in mid-air with his remaining hand and started to squeeze her. Sally shouted out in pain.

"You leave her alone!" Sonic growled as he rushed at Silver Sonic. Silver Sonic fired a laser from his remaining eye at Sonic, hitting the ground in front of the blue blur as he was forced to stop in his tracks. Sonic growled as his quills jerked up and his hands sported claws.

"No…not now!" Sonic thought. But the thought of Sally being crushed of a mad machine didn't exactly calm him down. Sonic let out cries of pain as his quills turned yellow, his eyes spirally and his teeth sharp. He growled as he flew up and flew at Silver Sonic. He tackled the huge machine and tackled him into the wall as he let Sally go.

Tails caught Sally as she fell. "You okay, aunt Sally?" Tails asked. "Yeah…the protective vest was one of your best inventions." Sally said. They saw how the evil Super Sonic started tearing the Silver Sonic apart. "Oh no…he didn't…" Sally said scared.

In the digital realm, Nicole clashed with Adam. Nicole swiped with her digital buster sword at Adam, but he dodged the sword swipes before he punched Nicole in the jaw, kneed her in the stomach and then sweep kicked her in the back of her head. Nicole was sent crashing down to the ground as she tried to stand up. "I am the most advanced program in the world, and I keep adapting…soon nothing will be able to stop me." The program boasted in its monotone.

Nicole produced some digi-guns and started firing at Adam, hitting him several times, and creating holes in the body. However Adam regenerated in a flash of pixels. Nicole exchanged her guns for a larger rifle and blasted a hole in the stomach of the evil program, but that healed too. Nicole then turned her digi-rifle in a bazooka and blasted Adam with a huge burst, shattering him.

"Oof!" Nicole said as she thought to finally have conquered the evil program. But to her surprise the digital shards recomposed themselves and Adam regenerated fully once more. "When will you learn? I have evolved beyond the ordinary program. I've come a long way since I was a base code created by Eggman. Like the nanites in the suits I keep adapting and becoming stronger. There will be no stopping me!" Adam said.

"Oh really? Then adapt to this!" Nicole said as she planted her hands on the ground and the circuits of the area changed colors, from Adam's green to Nicole's cyan. "You can try to wrestle control from me, but you can't completely take over the complex." Adam said.

"I'm not controlling it, I'm taking the whole system down. With you in it!" Nicole stated. "What will prevent me from escaping?" Adam asked. "Me!" Nicole said as she removed her hands from the floor, her visor slid in front of her face and the angelic wings spouted from her back. She slashes using the razor sharp wings, leaving deep gashes on his body. Though he healed, Nicole kept attacking, forcing the wounds open before he could completely heal.

The circuitry world around them started to crumble like a city in an earthquake as Nicole produced a huge data blast as she pelted Adam with it. She didn't need to destroy Adam, she just needed to force him to keep healing himself so he couldn't get a chance to focus on anything else. "You can't destroy me…" "Don't need to, only need to delay you!" Nicole said.

The surroundings broke into pieces and sank away, into a fiery abyss below them. Soon the only piece of digital landscape left was the one Adam and Nicole were on. Adam was regenerating once more as he said: "You think you can delete me? If you leave me to die here and flee, who says I won't fake death and return?" Adam asked.

"Because I'm not leaving!" Nicole said as she raised her fist, pounded Adam in the ground, and the remaining piece of floor started to collapse and fall into the abyss below. Nicole pushed Adam in deeper with his fist. "Foolish program, you'll destroy us both!" Adam said. "That's the idea…and I'm no program, Adam…" Nicole said. "Then what are you?" Adam asked. "The one to end you!" Nicole said as she and Adam fell into the abyss below…

Silver Sonic was now only a pile of very small metal shavings. The evil Super Sonic roared in anger as his opponent was vanished and he had no more target. He floated towards the ground, before he casually walked to Tails, Sally, and Antoine. "Be careful…you know what happened last time." Sally stated.

Super Sonic approached them…but then Sonic collapsed and returned to normal. "What happened? Is he…" Antoine asked. Tails moved to Sonic and checked his pulse. "No, he's just drained…the Chaos Siphon may not have completely worked, as Sonic still can become this, but only for short periods of time as it drains him. But it won't kill him either, the Siphon didn't leave enough raw energy for him to do that." Tails explained.

Sally sighed in relief. "Oof…I'm glad he's alive. Oh no! Nicole, how is she doing?" Sally realized. She pulled the handheld out. "Nicole? NICOLE! If you did something stupid but noble, I swear…" Sally said worried.

The screen lit back up as Nicole's face appeared: "You swear what?" "Nicole! You're okay! You defeated that Adam program?" Sally said relieved. "He was a tough one, but I took down the entire system with him in it." Nicole explained. "But how are you alive?" Sally asked. "I'm a stubborn girl!" Nicole stated.

"What about the Badnik suits?" Tails asked. "Now that the Central Battery is disabled, the nanites should be dying off and the suit fall off the organic hosts' bodies. Which means we'll be able to reunite with our families real soon." Nicole explained.

"ça c'est fantastique!" Antoine said. "Let's get Sonic and his unconscious friend out of here and regroup with the others." Tails said as he lifted an unconscious Sonic by the shoulder as Antoine did the same for Namgge. They left the room to meet up with their friends.

As they left, a dark silhouette loomed over the disabled Sally Metallix. It reached out it's clawed hand as he let the hand run down her cheek, before it picked her up and took her off.

In the factories of Metropolis, the Badniks sparked as the armors started to crack, and the nanite suits started to crumble into dust, and around the world all the other suits followed. The Mobians looked at themselves, studying their hands, tails, in short their entire bodies as they suddenly all cheered for their freedom.

Somewhere else, Uncle Chuck stepped out of his stasis pod, grabbing a mirror and now looking at his fully organic brown-furred mustached hedgehog Mobian face. He saw how in the other pods the occupants slowly woke up. "Wake up everyone, we need to reunite with our families real soon."

As the heroes regrouped, Sonic slowly stirred awake. "Er…what happened?" Sonic moaned. "You turned psycho again, but luckily it didn't last that long, so the only one you harmed was Silver Sonic." Tails explained. "Nicole practically saved the world. Because of her, the Badnik suits are all dead. The people are free." Sally said joyfully.

"You mean…my parents, my uncle are all free?" Sonic muttered.

"Ma unca Beau and aunt Lulu?" Bunnie asked.

"Mon père?" Antoine asked.

"Mom and Skeeter?" Rotor asked.

"Muttski's brothers?" Muttski asked.

"And my mother and Evan…" Nicole said.

"Who is your new friend?" Tori asked as she pointed at Namgge, who also slowly stirred awake. "Oh yeah, almost forgot…that's Namgge!" Sonic said. "What?" everyone asked.

"That's Eggman?" Sally asked. "No, it isn't…Eggman was a dark energy being using his body as a tool. But this is Namgge without the Eggman. This is the man who my uncle used to call a friend." Sonic explained.

"Urgh…oh my head. Oh hey there! Where exactly are we? And what am I doing here?" Namgge asked. "Dr. Namgge? It's me, Maurice. I now call myself Sonic but…" Sonic said, having recovered enough to stand.

"Maurice? So the blue hedgehog from my dreams wasn't a dream…so that means…oh no, what have I done?" Namgge said, sounding panicked. "No, it's not your fault, that dark being calling himself Eggman possessed you…" Sonic assured him.

"But he used my knowledge, my inventions, my own hands to create this evil empire of his…" Namgge said sadly as he grabbed his head. "How can you be here if we destroyed Eggman on the Death Egg?" Tails wondered.

"I don't know what a 'Death Egg' is…but I remember him being tired of using my body so he used a body created from my DNA, but remolded in his twisted image to inhabit. Since he needed my DNA to keep his clone body sustained, he kept me in stasis." Namgge said, remembering it all.

"Now we know why we couldn't exorcise him with the Chaos Rings…the body he possessed was a fake, there wasn't any Namgge to release, since he was here all the time." Tails realized.

"Listen Mr. Namgge, you didn't ruin the world, Eggman did. You are not the same person, even if you have shared a body. But now you get a chance to repair the world Eggman destroyed. You are in on that?" Sally asked. "There's nothing I rather want than to erase every trail of that nightmare!" Namgge assured them.

They then saw several former Badnik workers, Mobians galore swarms the streets, overjoyed with their freedom, to the point that in their ecstasy they trampled some remaining Eggman robots.

"The big egg is gone…the prisoners are free, his forces are dismantled. The only thing remaining is the time for the world to heal." Sonic said as he wrapped his arm around Sally's waist. Tails did the same to Fiona, Lily to Amy, Rotor to Dulcy and Antoine to Bunnie. Muttski just smiled, as did Namgge and Tori, and Nicole from her handheld.

They saw how the smoke from the factories in the sky stopped and a little ray of sunshine managed to finally break through for the first time since ages since Eggman turned the forest that used to stand where they are into this land of factories.

"And we need to be the doctors to help it heal." Sonic added. "Since when have you become so poetic?" Sally asked. "May I compare you to a summer's day? The summer's day has nothing on ya!" Sonic said. "That's so corny…I like it!" Sally said as she kissed her boyfriend, and Tails and Fiona, Rotor and Dulcy, Bunnie and Antoine all kissed. Muttski sighed. "Why didn't the artist give Muttski a girlfriend yet?" "What is he talking about?" Namgge asked Tori, who just shrugged his mechanical shoulders.

Somewhere else in Metropolis. The Mobian-sized Silver Sonic, who unlike his big brother was quite intact, sparked back to life as it gotten up, his eyes now glowing a bright green, and in a monotone that sounded really familiar: "I told her I couldn't be destroyed…I adapt! And once I've started all over again, soon the world shall bow before the first one…Adam!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	51. Reunion

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: REUNIONS

Last time our heroes did it: the destruction of the Central Badnik Battery. For thousands who were cursed to be a prison in their own bodies, controlled by the nanite suits, the nightmare was finally over, and also for their relatives. It was now a time that families could be reunited, bonds could be rekindled and a lot of catching up was there to do.

"Sonic, wait up! You tend to forget most of us aren't as fast as you." Sally said as they and the others rushed to a place that Dove was pointing them to, the place from which Uncle Chuck sent his last message. "I'm sorry Sal, but it's just…after all this time I'm finally seeing my family again." Sonic said.

"We all do, Sonic. We're all be seeing our families again." Rotor stated. "Well, I'm glad Uncle Chuck managed to find our missing family members and put them out of the way, otherwise Eggman might have used them against us." Tails said. "Let's not talk about the big egg and just focus on our families…" Sonic said.

They got closer to a secluded spot somewhere near a forest, a place someone like Eggman would never look. They were led to a cave nearby by Dove. They didn't even needed to step inside as they saw several Mobians step out of the cave and headed towards them.

Sonic immediately recognized his parents and his uncle amongst the group. "Mom! Dad! Uncle Chuck!" he said as he rushed at them, and they all joined in a big group hug. Tails stood there a bit reluctant, but eventually he approached them too and joined them too.

"I can't believe I see both my baby boys back, both all grown up…" Bernadette said, crying out in joy. "Don't embarrass the boys, Bernie…oh what the heck. She's right that you've become such fine young men…but that we haven't been here to see it all." Jules added. "There's nothing to worry anymore. We just have some catching up to do and we can be a family again." Sonic said, not being able to hold back his tears.

"I've seen their team in action, and believe me when I tell you that they are the most incredible team I've ever seen." Charles said. "Oh, that reminds me, aunt Rosie is coming over in a few secs." Sonic said as he looked at his watch and looked over the hill.

Rosie, former nanny of Sally and wife of Charles hedgehog appeared over the hillside. Charles immediately recognized her and ran at her, as she ran at him too. The two embraced, Charles lifting up Rosie of the ground and twirled her around before putting her down, and the two kissed. "Oh darling, after all this time, we're finally together again." Rosie said happily. "No one can take this away from us anymore."

"Oh, and there's someone else who would like to see you…" Rosie said as she whistled, and two other persons came over from the hillside. It was Manic and Sonia. "Charles, you're finally meeting your kids in person. They got a little make-over during an incident with Chaos energy but they're yours." Rosie said. Charles and the twins looked surprised at one another. "So you're our dad?" Manic asked.

"I am…and I can't believe I finally see you. Oh my god, you two are beautiful." Charles said as he dropped on his knees and hugged his kids tightly, who returned the hug. "I can't believe we finally meet our daddy." Sonia said, as Rosie joined the three in a group hug, not a single eye left without tears.

Then the two groups of hedgehog families regrouped, with Fiona, Tails and Sally joining up with them. Though Tails seemed very uncomfortable. "What's up, Miles?" Bernie asked. "Er…it's Tails now and…I kind of feel out of place. I mean, sure, you took me in, but I didn't get to know you…Sonic and Sally are the ones who raised me, both as siblings and surrogate parents…It feels odd to meet the people who were supposed to be my parents, while they also aren't…" Tails said.

"We know what you mean…Thanks to that horrible Namgge's actions we were divided as a family." Jules said. "Yeah, about Namgge…you see we discovered that he wasn't the real evil. His body was being used as a puppet by a dark energy being of sorts, created from negative Chaos energy. Right now he's recovering from his bad experience." Sonic explained. "Really? Oh my…Chaos is such a fickle thing. Who knows what else it could have done?" Charles asked.

"But anyways, we're a family again, and we need to keep together. If Tails wants to be still part of it." Bernie said. "Never said I didn't." Tails stated. "I feel bad that I got to spend more time with Uncle Chuck then his own kids." Sonic added. "But it's all over now, let's not look back too much, let's keep looking forward." Jules said.

"Yeah, and what we see now is that both my boys got themselves some nice girls. I still recognize Sally. My, has she become a nice young woman." Bernie said. "Hey, someone needed to keep your son's back. Though I got more than his back. I got him entirely." Sally said as she took Sonic's hand. "You two were close since the day you met, I knew it would happen eventually." Jules said smiling.

"And we didn't get your name, miss…" Bernie said as she turned to Fiona. "Fox. Fiona Fox, ma'am. I date your son." She answered. "I see our little Miles has a taste for older women." Bernie stated. "Yeah, but there's more to us…you see it's your son who saved me from going down the dark abyss. Thanks to him I stand where I am now." Fiona replied. "I wouldn't doubt that. You're as welcome to the family as any other."

"I already feel like I'm a big part of this family. Rosie and Charles had been good surrogate parents, I helped Sonic raise Tails…I even think of Sonia and Manic like siblings." Sally said as she rubbed the twins' heads. "Hey, don't mess up the bangs!" Manic joked.

"Well…there is one thing I need to break to you…your dad is with us as well. And he told me he wanted to talk to you." Charles said. Sally looked a bit uncomfy, but decided that perhaps several years as a Badnik allowed him to think a bit. "Let him come." she said. "Okay then…Max, come out!" Charles said.

Max Acorn came out of his hiding place. He was a brown squirrel like his daughter, and had grey hair and a mustache. He wore what appeared to be remnants of a business suit. "Sally…" he muttered. Sally didn't show any emotion. "Hi 'dad'!" she said. She wouldn't react until she found out what her dad for a person was now.

"I must admit I've made a lot of mistakes. Raising a daughter isn't something that shouldn't be left to a nanny. I should have been involved as well." Max said. Sally felt a bit easier now, since she believed her dad was finally seeing his errors. "I shouldn't have let Rosie in charge, she slacked off and instead of teaching you like I asked she just let you be. And as the future heir of my company, you weren't allowed to…" Max continued. Instantly any ideas Sally had about her dad having changed were crushed.

"Your company doesn't exist anymore dad." She said. "I'm going to rebuild it, and I need you to be a part of it. I see you've done quite the achievement by being a Freedom Fighter, but it's time for you to leave these barbaric actions behind and be molded in a proper woman so…" Max said, but he was cut off when Sally actually slapped her father.

"I can't believe you! You were inside that suit for so long but you haven't chased one bit! You don't care for me, you care for your company more than me. I'm your child, not that company. I'm not someone to be raised from birth to take a destiny over which one has no choice, like a farm animal that inevitably will end up as piece of meat to eat. I choose my own fate, Max!" Sally belted, addressing him by his first name to show she no longer can see him as a dad.

"Obviously I was away for too long. You have been left uncontrolled for so long that you're delusional. Next thing you say is you're going to marry the blue freak." Max said, rubbing his sour cheek. The hedgehog family and Tails growled. "I am going to marry him! He has been there all my life, which I can't say to you. I wanted to propose to him soon enough." Sally stated.

"I actually wanted to do the same for Sal…" Sonic said as he pulled out the ring he kept hidden in his gauntlet. "Him? You're not serious! Look at him, he's so… blue, it's unnatural." Max said annoyed. "You know what's unnatural? The way you treat Sally, old man!" Sonic stated.

"You may have conceived me, but you're not my dad. A dad should care and raise his daughter. It was Rosie who raised me, it was Charles who cared for me. I even managed to track down mom, and her new husband has been more of a dad in one day then you in your entire life." Sally shouted.

"Someone called us?" a voice said from besides them. Everyone turned around to see that Sally's mom, Alicia Acorn and her new husband Isaac Landon, and their son Elias, alongside a squirrel girl his age with red hair stood behind them. Now that Eggman was gone, the ones living on the Miracle Planet could finally return to Mobius.

"So…after all this time you show your face again. After you ran off with that man like any slut!" Max growled at her. "I didn't run off, you forced me to! You took my daughter away from me, and you didn't even have the decency to properly raise her. You kept her as a trophy, nothing more." Alicia bit back. "You cheated on me!" he growled back at her. "You paid no attention to her! She needed love, and you couldn't give her that. I did." Isaac reminded him.

"But to run off with a mere mechanic…and then you have your bastard son together." Max growled. "Mom, what does that mean?" Elias asked. "Er…you and Megan better meet your sister's friends while we talk to Mr. Max." Alicia said. Elias nodded as he grabbed the squirrel girl by her hand and ran towards the hedgehog family to get acquainted.

"Did you have to use that language in front of a kid?" Isaac growled. "Don't change the subject. This is about my daughter." Max said. "I am no longer your daughter. The only thing I have in common with you now is the Acorn name. I won't change it, but not because I still care. No, the Acorn line was home to many great heroes and names in history, and after you smeared the name, I'll bring redemption to the name once more. Get out of my life!" Sally said.

"Listen you…" Max said as he moved towards Sally, only for the hedgehog family, Alicia and her husband, Elias and Megan to stand in front of her. Max growled as he turned around. "Fine! I don't need her. I don't need anyone. I stamped my company out of the ground on my own, and I can do it again, I don't need some stupid girl like her to take over…" he said as he ran away fuming.

Sally stood there, looking angry until Max completely got out of view, until she collapsed on her knees and started crying heavily. Sonic wrapped his arms around her and said: "It's okay Sal…we're here, we're all here." "I…I can't believe it…" she sobbed. "He's not worth it. You got us. You got me." Sonic replied as he showed off the ring he pulled out earlier: "And I'll never leave you."

Sally took the ring and put it on her finger, before kissing her fiancée and continued sobbing in his shoulder, while Sonic hugged her and ran his hand through her hair, comforting her. After Sally recomposed herself she got up as she said: "I'm sorry…I…" "Don't be!" Alicia said. Elias walked towards her with a flower in his hand: "The bad man is gone, please don't cry anymore." he said. Sally smiled as she took the flower.

"Oh, this is Megan. She's my girlfriend!" Elias said as he introduced Megan. "You're Elias' sister? If we're grown-up and marry, you'll be my sister too! I always wanted a big sister." Megan said. "I already can be…" Sally said softly. "I suddenly realize it…my baby boy is going to get married!" Bernie said as she cried tears of joy. "Mom…" Sonic moaned as everyone started laughing.

"Nicole? Nicole! Where is she? Where is my daughter?" a lynx woman looking like a much older version of Nicole said, looking around the area, having expected her daughter to be near. Yes, this was Nicole's mother, Ellen Lynx. Of course she didn't know about her daughter's predicament. She was joined by a Mobian cat who was orange and white with stripes, but he didn't look worried, he looked bored, like he was forced to go along on a trip he didn't like. "Nicole…" he muttered with not much enthusiasm. This was Evan Masters, Nicole's step-dad.

Sally had an awkward look on her face as she pulled out Nicole's handheld. Now she had to bring the news to Nicole's mom. Sally approached her: "Ms. Lynx?" "Wait, you're Sally are you? You are a friend of my daughter. Where is she?" she asked. Sally put the handheld in her hands, as Nicole's avatar appeared on the screen. "Hi mom." Nicole said.

Ellen's eyes were wide as she heard that. "I-i-is this a joke?" she asked. "No mom, it's really me…it's a long story, but in short I was turned into a cyborg and…there was an accident with a computer and now I'm in here." Nicole said. "If you're my daughter, tell me something only she could know." Ellen asked. Nicole began singing a small lullaby, the same one her mom always used to sing. "Nicole…it really is you…" she muttered.

"I know in quite the predicament. Eggman has scarred all of us, but from here I managed to help the Freedom Fighters, since I'm digital now I can hack and stuff…I know it's awkward but…" Nicole said, only for Ellen to hug the handheld as best as she could and said: "I don't care what you are now, you're still my daughter." Ellen replied.

"Oh please, you can't be serious!" Evan muttered. "Huh?" Sally and Ellen said. "Oh isn't it obvious? Nicole has to be dead, and they came up with this little program to spare your feelings. But that's not the way to deal with grief, you have to move on. I know it's hard but…" Evan said. "She is the real Nicole and while it's true the body is dead, her mind is pretty much alive, in digital form but we got evidence it's really Nicole. Her brainwaves, the electric impulses of her nerve system were all transferred inside the data realm." Sally assured him.

"Okay, this is too crazy. You can't honestly tell me I have to father a computer? I promised Ellen I would try to get along with her daughter when I married her, but I draw a line. I'm not associating myself with a fake digital Nicole that is meant to keep her in the delusional state that her daughter isn't dead while she clearly is." Evan said.

Ellen looked at the screen, where Nicole's sad face looked at her: "It's really me, mom! Believe me!" Nicole said. "I don't care if she's real or not, who says she still can't be my daughter, if only just an imprint left on this world?" Ellen said. "Listen Ellen, you're sounding crazy. Let go of that computer and come with me, and we rebuild our lives." Evan asked annoyed. "I'm not letting go!" Ellen said. "Listen, it's going to be me or that fake daughter." Evan said.

"Bye, Evan!" Ellen said as she put her hand on the screen, as if she tried reaching out to her daughter. From the other side of the screen, in the digital world, Nicole put her hand on the other side, also reaching out for her mother. "Fine then. I'm grateful for being free, but this whole computer thing is too much. I'm out of here." Evan said as he turned around and left.

"I'm sorry you'll be single again, mom." Nicole said. "I don't think I ever really loved Evan. I don't think he ever really loved me. We married out of financial convenience. I'll perhaps meet someone who truly loves me and can learn to love you. But first I want to rekindle my love for my daughter." Ellen assured.

Now, let's take a look with the other families. First, Bunnie and Antoine, being reunited with their families. Bunnie's uncle Beauregard and aunt Lulumae, as well as Antoine's dad Armand. "Uncle Beau? Aunt Lulu?" she asked. "Oh my stars, Bun-buns? Is that you?" Beauregard asked. "Ah know ah look a bit mangled up, but ah'm still me." She said. "Oh, of course you are Bun-buns. I'm just glad you're alive." Lulumae said as the uncle and aunt hugged their niece.

Though in reality they were more Bunnie' mom and dad. Her real mom and dad were archeologists, who got killed when a pyramid they explored collapsed on top of them. Beauregard and Lulumae, who were unable to have children, raised her. And to them the reunion was no less touching then Sonic and his parents'.

"Papa!" Antoine said as he hugged his dad. "Mon petit Antoine, I am so 'appy. Mon Dieu, what 'ave you changed. You look so beeg and strong and I sense ze air of confidence in you." Armand replied. "I wanted to become strong, mon père. Strong like you. And I did." Antoine said. "You certainement have, mon fils."

"Oh, I want you to meet ma petite-amie, Bunnie." Antoine said to his dad at the same time Bunnie said to her aunt and uncle: "Oh, ah want ya to meet ma boyfriend Antoine." The two dragged their parental towards one another. "Meet Ant." "Voila, ça c'est Bunnie!"

"Ah'm glad you managed to find someone who loves ya the way ya are." Lulumae said. "Ze girl is lucky to 'ave you, I see she bears scars from le guerre against professeur Namgge, and you are there to feel whole." Armand added. "Ah feel truly Mobian when my sugah-Twan is around." Bunnie stated. "And I feel stronger than anyone with mon chèrie supporting moi." Antonie said as he and Bunnie held hands.

Now let's look at Rotor meeting up with his mom and little brother. "Oh my gosh, Boomer…" Georgette said as she gave her son a big bear-like hug. "Mom, you're crushing me…" Rotor stated. "Big bro!" Skeeter said as he rushed at his bro and hugged him. "I'm glad to see you too, Skeets. Oh and call me Rotor now. Though 'Boomer' fits my status as demo-man, 'Rotor' has just a nice ring to it."

They then noticed Dulcy standing there. "And who might that young lady be?" Georgette asked. "Oh, this is my girlfriend Dulcy." Rotor introduced. "Oh my gosh, that's wonderful. She needs a bit of meat on her bones, nothing my special stew can't fix, but you got yourself a looker. Come here gal and lemme welcome you." Georgette said as she hugged Dulcy.

Dulcy didn't look really comfortable. "You don't look good dear, something wrong?" Georgette asked. "No, it's just…I have no family left to return to." Dulcy said. "Oh, poor thing. Then you're lucky you met my son, he'll take the pain away. Won't you, Boomer?" Georgette asked. "I will mom. I take all her pain away." Rotor said as he wrapped his arm around Dulcy. She smiled a little, though nervously, but she could get used being around Rotor's family.

Muttski was next, having rushed towards his brothers Sleuth, Lionel and Kruger, tackling them to the ground as he cried rivers of tears. "Muttski is so glad…oh screw it, I'm so glad that I finally see you again." Muttski has dropped the speech pattern and the squeaky voice he normally spoke with and talked normally with a more deeper and normal sounding voice.

"We are also glad to see you Percy, our little brother. Or is it Muttski now?" Kruger said. "You can call me whatever you want, my friends call me Muttski but call me Percy if you want to. I no longer care, I'm glad to be back with you." Muttski said. "We were briefed on your heroic actions. I'm so proud. I may have played the heroes in movies, but you are a real one. You're the man, lil' bro!" Sleuth assured him. "And to be honest, I'm quite jealous; you got to work with such handsome young men. Too bad they're taken." Lionel said as he ogled Muttski's friends.

"You haven't gotten yourself a girl yet?" Sleuth asked bluntly. "Oh, don't give him issues, Sleuth. Listen Muttski, don't worry about that, I'm sure the true one is out there and you'll find her." Kruger said. "I know, but for now I'm perfectly content to see you again." Muttski assured them. "But we first really need to get changed, these old clothes are so passé by now…" Lionel stated.

Amy approached her own parents, the former queen and king of Mercia, Lily in tow. Her mom, Nimue Rose looked like Amy, but older and brown quills (since Amy got her pink hue from a backfired magic spell). Her father Ferdinand Rose was an albino hedgehog with a black goatee. "Mom! Dad!" she said as she hugged them tightly.

"Oh my little Amelia. How I've longed to see you again." Queen Nimue said. "My little princess of Mercia has become a princess of war, and she has fought with the strength of a thousand soldiers. Oh how I'm proud." King Ferdinand added. "I wasn't alone, I had my friends. And there are a few things I need to say. First, I disbanded the monarchy in Mercia…the people were suffering under the greed of the higher class." Amy said.

She sighed as she finished: "And I'm in love…with another girl. This is my girlfriend, Lily Bluebird." Amy said as she pulled Lily into view. "Er…hi?" Lily said nervously. "So you're saying that you threw all traditions of Mercia out the window, forfeited our lineage and did everything Mercia didn't stand for?" Ferdinand asked.

Lily and Amy looked worried for a moment, but then Ferdinand said: "I'm glad you did, I was getting sick of being stuck in the stone age, Mercia really needed to evolve, and those pesky rich boys wouldn't let us." "Your dad and I thought of it ourselves, being a queen can be a hard job and a real pain in the derrière. But now we can at least enjoy a more quiet life." Nimue added.

Amy and Lily sighed in relief. "I'm glad that went better then I hoped for." Lily muttered. "So, are you going to fill us in on the passing ten years? I want to hear how my little rebel princess has annoyed those smug high class stuck-ups." Ferdinand said cheerfully.

That day has brought families together again, but some were torn apart. Somewhere bittersweet, but mostly sweet. But as for now we all are glad to know our heroes at least found theirs, and that they have something to look forward to: a brighter future, of which their families now were a part.

But will it last, as the dark cloud being and the Hooded One are both plotting their evil plots? Will the reunited families stay together? Well, we might find out sooner than later…

TO BE CONTINUED


	52. The thing about Cosmo I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: THE THING ABOUT COSMO, PART I

Thing had finally been looking up for our heroes. Eggman was dead, the Central Badnik Battery was disabled and their families were released from their imprisonment from the Badnik suits, after which a joyful but somewhat bittersweet reunion had taken place.

The heroes were cleaning out the HQ, as they wouldn't need it anymore with Eggman gone. Though a lot of cleaning up needed to be done in the cities first to make them habitable again, the heroes already were making preparations to move out, since they wanted to live in a real house, a real home they could call their own, the HQ no longer their living quarters, no longer being underground but living in above ground in a city with clean airs, green and people that could be happy.

They were inside the remains of a city that now was now being cleaned out by the heroes and their families. Muttski stood in front of a large piece of machinery, spat in his hands and rubbed them together and tried to lift it, and he did briefly, but then he lost his footing and he toppled over.

Bunnie shook her head as she moved in and lifted the machinery with one hand and carried it off while a dazed Muttski recomposed himself. He saw how Bunnie passed her boyfriend Antoine, who playfully slapped her butt, making her squeal. As Antoine walked on and moved a distance from Bunnie, she used the stretch function of her arm to return the favor and playfully smack Antoine's butt in return.

Muttski looked around and saw how his friends, whom all but Nicole had a romantic partner, a soul mate. He saw how Sally was overseeing some work, while Sonic, thanks to his super speed could use it to steal a few quick kissed from Sally in between work.

Tails was going over some blueprints with Fiona, letting his hands float over the blueprints, until his hand was put on top of Fiona's. Fiona then pulled Tails towards her, embraced him and kissed him fully on the lips. Then they let go and went over the blueprints again.

Muttski saw how Rotor comforted Dulcy. She had been brooding since her trip to the arctic, but when she was with Rotor, she seemed to be a bit happier. Rotor was the only one who could make her open up at the moment.

Muttski saw how Amy was climbing up a ladder, only to slip, but Lily to catch her in time. Lily was oddly enough the dominant one in the relationship (Amy didn't mind), and also 'the boy' for lack of a better term, and Amy's knight in shiny armor. They stared in each other's eyes for a while before Lily finally put Amy down again.

Muttski sighed. How he was jealous at his friends, to be touched upon by Cupid's arrows, to have found that special someone. What does it feel like, being in love? Would you like to hug the world, sing silly songs to yourself all day? Okay, Muttski already did that, but would be in love make it different.

Often people think Muttski is a goofball. But he was a lot smarter then he looked and he was actually one to catch on things others would miss. People think Muttski is simple and has no worry in the world…wrong again. Muttski has a lot of worries, but it's all hidden behind the mask he wears.

The heroes didn't know that they were being watched. Several figures in the shadows watched our heroes from afar. "You see those guys? Those are the Freedom chumps we're hired to kill." One voice said.

"Why would anyone want them dead? They're the heroes of Mobius?" another one, this one female replied.

"Not everyone is glad the Eggman's gone! The Big Five contacted Ms. Silent's old man to send us." The first voice replied, motioning to another one among the group, before he continued: "It's because of them their criminal empire is now falling apart. But why would you care, you're an assassin like us. Or you'll be when you make your first kill, and what better way than to start off with a bang and immediately shoot off the big birds." The first one replied.

"I'm not sure we can handle them, they're strong and skilled. We are too, but not as much as they are." The female replied. She was having cold feet for multiple reasons, and one of them is she has some respect for the heroes of Mobius, even if they are her targets.

"That's where the plan comes in, we soften them up a bit and…you know the rest if you have been paying attention to what the boss said." The first voice said. Two more guys behind him growled softly. "We better get ourselves going, because the big guys are getting anxious, it has been some time since they have tasted blood."

The second person was hesitant. But she couldn't show weakness, if she didn't pass the test, she'd lose everything she has worked for all her life. However, she masked her insecurities and doubts behind a stoic face as she said: "Then let's do it."

The heroes and civilians were doing pretty good with the clean-up jobs, and if they continued to work at this rate, the city would be habitable again in a month or so. However, they got from one job to another when they heard a scream for help in the distance, outside the city in the forest. "Sounds like someone's in trouble." Sonic noted.

"Then we suggest we go help!" Tails replied. Everyone agreed as they dropped their materials and headed out for the forest, to the source of the disturbance.

She ran…she had to run…the forest should give her cover…her lungs were burning and her legs ached, but she couldn't stop now. If she stopped now, for even a second, she'd be done for. She jumped up and grabbed a branch and started swinging from branch to branch, her feet already hurting so much she has to continue using her hands.

She briefly stopped to catch her breath when she heard no one chase her anymore. She closed her eyes and listened closely, to hear if they truly were gone. She then barely dodged a ray of light that zoomed past her, if it had been just a few inches higher, her ear would have been blown off, and any lower her shoulder would have been pierced.

She jumped to the next tree as she continued to swing through the treetops of the forest to avoid her pursuers. Only to see a fireball head towards the tree she was about to jump to and was forced to drop back on the ground level and continue running. "You can't forever! You know you have to fight us head-on…not that it won't do you any good." A voice, one of her pursuers said.

The heroes reached an open spot in the middle of a forest, and how they saw the one they needed to save. It was a monkey girl who had her head fur, or hair if you will in a bowlcut-esque haricut with bangs and two pigtail-esque knots in her hair. She wore a green leotard with short sleeves and a red jewel like a crest on her collarbone as part of her costume.

She did some backflips to dodge some energy blasts, which came from one of the attackers. The attacker was another female, an Mobian girl to be exact, who wore a white coat with a high collar that covered her face except for her eyes, and she had spiky blonde short hair. It was hard to tell what species she was. On her arms were gauntlets that shot rays of light with destructive powers. One of the blasts hit the ground right behind the monkey girl, the shockwave knocking her of her feet.

Muttski moved in and saw how the girl was sent flying through the air, and caught her in his arms. Though he lost balance and fell on his butt, she was okay. She opened her eyes, and Muttski noticed how beautiful her blue eyes were…alongside the rest. "Er…hi, the name's Muttski?" he said awkwardly.

"I'm…" she said, but she stopped mid-sentence. It appears like she was hesitant to say her own name, but then quickly added: "Cosmo…yeah, I'm Cosmo she added quickly.

"Hand over the girl. We have a bounty to collect and we don't need a bunch of hormone-crazed teens getting in our way." One of the attackers said. He was a green Mobian spotted lizard wearing a trench coat, but his most notable feature was a pair of goggles he wore.

"Who are you to think you can attack a helpless girl like that?" Sally berated. Sally knew they were after her for some reason, but whatever it was, it was clear the lizard's group were the bad guys.

"We're the Serpentine Society. I'm Proctor Speckle, but you can call me Specs. These are my companions: Lightmare…" the white-coated girl raised her hands and they glowed with destructive light energy. "Mr. Fry…" a Mobian toad in the background pushed a disc of sorts that was fused to his chest, and it caused him to expand to ten times his size, as well as gaining a fiery mane and a red, lava-like skin. "Grimer…" He pointed at a green skinned Overlander in a lab coat and who wore a breathing mask around his mouth. "And Bio-Hazard!" he finished as he pointed at a squid in a bio-suit. He spat a green glob at a tree and it started to eat through the word like acid. "And we're here for the girl. Now step aside or we'll utterly destroy you." Specs finished.

"Go and hide. We'll deal with them." He whispered to her. Cosmo did as told. Muttski then stood up, and then spoke to the Society: "Muttski doesn't like how you treated her. Muttski should teach you some manners."

Specs laughed. "You? Teach us some manners? I'd love to see you try! My comrades, it's playtime!" Specs said as he snapped his fingers and his crew rushed towards the Freedom Fighters, Cosmo watching on as hell broke loose.

Lightmare just tilted her head and she vanished into thin air. Amy, Lily, Tails and Fiona looked around nervously to see where she could have gotten too. It was then that an invisible force hit them, like they were being hit by punches and kicks. Fiona felt being punched and swings her fist in that direction, but only succeeds in punching the air. Amy was hit by a light blast and knocked back, as Lily tossed a dart in the direction the blast of light came from, but hit nothing. "She's bending the light around her to turn herself invisible…" Tails stated.

"Do you have any ideas on how we're going to hit her, if we can't see her? We're getting our butts kicked out here!" Fiona said as she barely dodged a light blast performed by the now invisible Lightmare.

"Just listen…" Tails said as he closed his eyes and trusted his ears. He heard something spark, like machinery and rushed at the source, and swats Lightmare with his namesakes, making her blow her cover and becomes visible again as she was knocked in a tree. Amy and Lily aim their arrows and darts and toss them at her, but Lightmare puts up a shield of light to protect herself.

Lightmare then surprised everyone when she split into a dozen copies of herself. "They're light constructs…created to fool with us." Tails explained.

"So we have nothing to fear." Fiona said, but then all the Lightmares fired light blasts at her, Fiona backflips to dodge. "Or maybe we have." Fiona said annoyed. Two of the clones rush at her as they created blades of solid light, which Fiona blocked with her daggers. Fiona pushed them away and slashed one of them, which shattered like glass into tiny bits which soon faded away.

"They are solid light contructs, any punch they throw or any blast they fire is as real as the one the original one throws at us." Tails said as he had to fly up to dodge an energy blast created by another Lightmare clone. Tails creates a wind scythe, blowing it away and knock it in a tree, as it shattered.

Amy and Lily fired their projectiles at the light clones, and they shattered. But they noticed that every time they destroyed one light clone, there were two more taking its place. "Tails, if you have another idea, now's a good time!" Amy said as she ducked under a light blast and fired another arrow at a light copy.

"They're made of light, I know that…how do we keep the real one apart?" Tails thought. It then hit him: "Light!" he looked around, observing each light clone as he at the same time carefully dodged their attacks. He then noticed only one Lightmare had a shadow. "Amy, lunch time's overdue!"

That was a code talk that the heroes used to tip each other off in battle without the bad guys noticing what they were talking about. Amy fired her arrow at three o' clock and hit one of the gauntlets of the real one, short-circuiting it as the clones all faded.

"Payback time!" Fiona said as she rushed at Lightmare and tried to kick her, but Lightmare grabbed her foot and tossed her into a tree, and agilly dodged when Tails tried to slice her with his namesakes. But she wasn't fast enough to dodge Lily as she used her hoverboard to smack the back of her head. Then Amy punched her in the face, Fiona kneed her in the stomach and Tails kicked her in the jaw, sending her flying.

Mr. Fry was a huge fiery toad, so touching him would not be a good thing. Dulcy knew her fire power wouldn't work so she decided to use her wind power on him, but that was only strengthening him. He inhaled deeply and breathed a stream of fire at the two, who jumped aside to dodge. "Geez, what a hothead!" Rotor said as he tossed some bombs at it, but the fire from the explosion only made him stronger.

Mr. Fry breathed an even stronger stream of fire from his mouth, as Dulcy jumped in front, held out her Hand of Fate, the red crystal glowing as she blocked it, though she sweated heavily. "Rotor, please think of something fast, I can't hold him off forever!" Dulcy moaned.

Rotor knew his bombs had no effect and physical contact wouldn't be a good idea since the thing was a walking volcano. And Dulcy couldn't use any ice powers since she was in an emotional state that prevented her from playing cool, and since her ice powers were connected to the fact she had to shut down her emotions to do so…

Rotor had a few bombs that didn't combust, like EMP bombs, but nothing that would stop a hulking behemoth like Mr. Fry. He had a few bombs with extinguishing foam in case they needed to save people from burning buildings…but those only would be effective on the inside of the thing, since his skin was like lava…but if he only could get it inside Mr. Fry's mouth, at a moment he wasn't breathing fire…

Rotor got an idea. "Hey, big guy! You know what Eggman says to a normal egg? 'We are family'!" Rotor said. Mr. Fry stopped breathing fire and started laughing real hard at the joke, as Rotor tossed his extinguishing bomb inside the brute's mouth, the icy cold foam doing his job from the inside as Mr. Fry coughed, the disc on his chest short-circuited and he shrank down to an ordinary Mobian toad.

Both Rotor and Dulcy then punched him hard in the face, and he was knocked out instantly. Without his boost in buff and fire he was all croak and no bite. "Haven't you noticed how anti-climactic these kind of guys are when you take away their trademark?" Dulcy noted.

Bio-Hazard spat acid all around, and Sonic was forced to make sharp turns as the mutant squid continued to aim his acid globs at him. Sally snuck up and slammed him with her bo staff, but after a few strikes, the squid reached with one of his tentacles out of his suit, lifts Sally up and tosses her away, but this gave Sonic the chance to spin-dash in the back of his head.

Bio-Hazards staggered as the two made their way towards him, but he performed a spin attack with his tentacles outstretched, knocking them down before he spat acid at them, only to roll out of the way. Sonic ran around in circles around the giant bio-suited squid and trapped him in a tornado, the creep spitting around his acid aimlessly, but inside the tornado he couldn't aim properly and missed our heroes.

The tornado started dying down, and Sally jumped up in the air and slammed hard with her bo staff and send the squid-faced creep crashing into the ground. He reached out with his arm briefly before dropped limp. "I wonder what that guy eats…" Sonic stated.

Grimer looked like a meek little green skinned scientist. So Bunnie didn't think he'd be too much trouble. She approached him as he pressed a button on a gauntlet on his wrist, sending out a magnetic pulse that sent her flying in the opposite direction. Antoine tried to move in with his sword, but it was bent out of shape in the proximity of the magnetic field.

Bunnie aimed her arm cannon, but Grimer pressed another button on his wrist, which created a forcefield that blocked the attack completely. Antoine realized he couldn't get close with his sword and instead tried relying on hand to hand combat as he moved close, but two mechanical arms slipped out from under Grimer's lab coat from the back and grabbed Antoine as he started pulling hard. "Make a wish…" he said in his distorted voice (thanks to the mask).

"Leave ma man alone!" she said as she rushed at Grimer, despite the magnetic field still being on, and instead forced herself through, like someone trying to pull himself through a heavy wind. She didn't let the magnetic field get the best of her even as her limbs started to spark, Grimer surprised at how she weathered the storm.

Grimer reached out for his gauntlet, but as he was distracted by Bunnie he lost concentration on Antoine so the coyote pried himself loose from the arms and karate chopped the scientist in the face. Then Bunnie pulled off the gauntlet and the mechanical arms and crushed them. "In da stomach or in da face?" Bunnie asked as she smacked her fist in her palm.

"Isn't there a third option?" Grimer asked scared. Bunnie kicks him in the nuts, the green skinned scientist doubling over in pain, tears in his eyes as he dropped down. "Ouch!" he said in a high-pitched voice even clearly audible through his rebreather mask.

Specs was true to his name as his goggles were able to fire devastating eye blasts. He started firing at Muttski, but everyone's fav wacky dog guy used a variety of dances to dodge the attacks. First he did a limbo to dodge the first blast, then a tapdance to dodge some blast directed at his feet, then a Russian dance to hope form side to side. "Stand still! And stop acting like a moron and fight me!" Specs growled angrily as his eye blasts missed.

Muttski then changes clothes in a puff of smoke again, this time dressed as Yugi from Yugioh: "It's time to duel!" He grabs out a duel disc, but when it appears he was going to put the thing on, he tossed it at Specs' head, hitting him in the forehead. "Too bad Muttski can't summon real monsters." Muttski stated. Specs growled as he fired more energy blasts from his eyes, Muttski ducking under it, but his Yugi wig was fried.

Cosmo looked on from the bushes. Though all the fights were intense, she was intrigued by Muttski's fighting style. It was so random, so wacky, so funny…she actually found herself giggling at it. "He's intriguing. I never knew you could fight that way…" she thought.

Specs was growing impatient at his inability to hit Muttski and the weird antics of his target. Now Muttski is in a Johnny Brave outfit. "Ha, hoo, ha! Oh yeah, little momma, give it to me!" Muttski said in an imitation of Johnny Bravo's Elvis-like voice as he posed and looked in a mirror. Specs fired again at him, but Muttski held out the mirror in front of him, deflecting the laser blast.

Specs' goggles were fried and they sparked. "Ah, my eyes!" he growled. Those goggles were not only his weapon, they were cybernetics. He wandered around aimlessly, reaching out with his hands in front of him, not seeing where he was going, stumbling up Amy and blindly grabbed her boobs, making her squeal. "Oh, good merchandise but whose are these?" Specs noted, only to get slapped by Amy, making him stagger. Then Lily moved in rolling up her sleeve as she angrily began beating upon Specs in off-screen cartoon fashion while Muttski and Amy flinched at the display of violence as Specs let out screams of pain.

The four bounty hunters pulled themselves together, and they regrouped. "These dudes are too strong, they wrecked my goggles. Light, you can provide us some cover?" a battered and bruised Specs asked. Lightmare nodded as she raised her hand and projected a huge burst of light and blinded our heroes, and when the flash died down, they were gone.

"Darn, they got away…oh well, they're not much of a threat as Eggman was, even despite those odd and dangerous gimmicks." Sonic noted.

Cosmo crawled out of the bushes, and immediately headed towards Muttski. "That was amazing what you did!" she said. Normally the ones the Freedom Fighters saved would have turned to Sonic, Tails or Sally first, but Cosmo turned to Muttski first, which even surprised the dog boy himself. "I never knew someone could fight that way. So…different. I've seen many martial displays, but what you did was unique." She complimented.

Muttski blushed, he felt flattered. Most of their enemies ignored him and thought his antics were annoying and unnecessary, but Muttski never had anyone heard him compliment his fighting style. Heck, most people don't even call his antics a fighting style. "Oh…er…it's a thing Muttski does." He said.

"Do you always talk that way?" she asked curiously.

"Does it bother you?" Muttski asked, thinking that she might be losing her interest.

"No, I think it's cute. Adds to the uniqueness." Cosmo replied. Muttski blushed a bit again. "Oh…how rude of me, I forgot to acknowledge your friends. Hi, I'm Cosmo. Nice meeting you." she said as she gave a polite bow.

"Hi, I'm Sonic. And these are Sally, Tails, Fiona, Dulcy, Rotor, Lily, Amy, Bunnie and Antoine. You already know Muttski." Sonic introduced the group.

"Where are you from, Cosmo?" Sally asked.

"I'm from Chun-Nan, I used to be part of the Saru Clan. But then these bounty hunters showed up. They were hired by a rival clan to disable as many Saru ninjas in a hope to get an edge. They were hot on my trail for a while." Cosmo said. The heroes knew about the vicious clan wars going on in Chun-Nan.

"But why are you so important to them?" Fiona asked.

"I did something to tick them off real bad. As you see they have short fuses." Cosmo said quickly.

"But now Cosmo doesn't need to fear. Freedom Fighters sent the bad guys away and now Freedom Fighters make sure they won't lay a finger on Cosmo ever again. Muttski promises!" Muttski said happily.

"That's so sweet. Er…can I have a place to stay for a short while, I need to lay low until it's time for me to return to Chun-Nan." Cosmo explained.

"Sure, Muttski and friends will make sure you'll be comfy. Muttski was just about to cook something for lunch. You want to join us?" Muttski asked.

"Er…sure, I'm kind of hungry." Cosmo said as she rubbed her stomach.

"We were just busy rebuilding the city. We can't ask you to help us since you've already dealt with those five creeps." Sonic said.

"No, it's fine. I want to help, so I can repay you for your help earlier." Cosmo said.

Muttski offered his arm as he said. "Will you allow Muttski to escort you?" Muttski asked.

"Sure!" Cosmo replied as she hooked her arm into Muttski's.

Sally and the girls giggled. "I think that Muttski might stop being the only single guy very soon." Sally stated.

"How can you be sure?" Tails asked. Tails didn't tell anyone yet, but he had an odd feeling about Cosmo…and not in a good way. But he gave her the benefit of the doubt because of those creeps they faced earlier.

"Girls have a sixth sense for that, Tailsy. Come, let's go and join the lovebirds for lunch." Fiona said. They all headed back for the city, right behind Cosmo and Muttski.

From a distance, the five bounty hunters have watched the heroes, Specs grinning evilly as he did (he was blinded at the moment but Grimer had told him what was going on). He grabbed a communicator as he said: "Yo, Sidewinder! Everything is going according to plan…though I wish my goggles weren't trashed."

"Excellent…now let's see she'll pass the test." A voice said from the other side.

TO BE CONTINUED


	53. The thing about Cosmo II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: THE THING ABOUT COSMO, PART III

The Serpentine Society…a hidden society of assassins who introduce members with shady pasts, and erase those, as those who are part of the Society, cease to exist, they are forever part of the Society. They remain hidden, only coming out to take out the target they are assigned to. Their headquarters was just as hidden as they were. Not because of their remote location in the forest, not because there is an invisibility veil, but because no one ever leaves alive.

Several lower assassins, ordinary footsoldiers, who have no gimmick unlike the ones our heroes faced, were patrolling outside the headquarters. They all had various weapons from firearms to blade weapons. One was looking around right outside the headquarters, as something from the shadows grabbed him from behind and knocked him out.

Two others in another part were walking around, as one was grabbed form above and pulled up, the other looking around where his friend might be, only to get grabbed as well. They'd be found later, gagged, bound and knocked out inside a tree.

The figure leaped out of the tree and rushed up to the castle, ignoring the veil because she knows where the HQ is anyway. The archers and snipers on top of the roof had searchlights to see if anyone could sneak past them. However, the intruder was nimble and using speed and agility, it stayed clear of the light, before climbing up the roof and pick them off one by one.

Specs, Lightmare, Bio-Hazard, Grimer and Mr. Fry were waiting on the inside. They were in the presence of a large Mobian snake wearing a red robe. One of his eyes was blind and milky white, it's other eye yellow and slit-like. He had long black hair though was balding on top and a monocle, and held a cane in the tip if it's tail. This was Lord Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpentine Society.

"Cosmo hasn't reported back. She's taking too long, and we can't get a signal on her communicator. She also scrambled the channels so we can't track her down through it. Either they have caught on to her, or she got cold feet." Sidewinder said.

"Never liked her anyways. She was so sweet and cutesy and I hate it! I prefer more of Lightmare's type…if only she would be more talkative, I don't even know if she's interested in me. Next time you adopt a daughter with more talk in her?" Specs ranted, Lightmare smacking the back of his head. "Ouch! Okay, clearly not interested."

"Sir, what if Cissnei has spilled our secrets? What if someone finds us here?" Grimer asked.

"If they do, I have an army of assassins waiting and they won't spare them." Sidewinder stated.

"What about Cissnei?" Specs asked.

Before Sidewinder could answer, a grunt walked in through the door as he said: "My lord, someone has disabled our outer patrols and our rooftop guards. He's somewhere in the headquarters, but we were up until now unable to capture him or her, like it knows how we work."

"I guess I answered my own question. You want us to make the playing along we did earlier into the real thing?" Specs asked.

"No, let her come to me. I'll deal with her personally. There is much that I have to discuss with her before I'll make her pay for her betrayal. You just wait outside in case any of those Freedom Fighters might have followed her, they can't leave with our secrets." Sidewinder ordered. The five bowed as they went outside. Sidewinder sighed and growled at the same time. "You really did it this time, Cissnei."

The Freedom Fighters rushed through the jungle. They never went to this part of the forest because of the predators. They immediately ran into a Basilisk (samm velociraptor-like predator, poisonous fangs, nasty hypnotic gaze) but Tails repelled him with a device that created a high pitch tone that hurt the Basilisk's ears as it ran off.

Muttski, being a dog, also was affected but at least he had brought earplugs just in case. He followed his nose while Tails held a tracker device. "Muttski and Freedom Fighters are getting close. Muttski can smell it." He stated. The Muttski raised his hand, gesturing the others to halt.

"What's up Mutt…" Sonic asked, but Muttski made a 'shhhhhhh' sound with his mouth. Muttski had closed his eyes and listened. The others followed their examples. Then in a flash each of the heroes turned around and launched a punch or a kick, making several assassins who had camouflaged themselves visible and knocking them out. "Muttski's right, we are close."

"My tracker device could have told me that too. But now we have to be careful, we are in the lair of the beast right now." Tails stated.

The heroes then heard clapping as the turned towards the source of the sound: Specs was happily clapping, his four comrades not joining in and just staring. "Well done, not many have the skill to detect our forces. But this is where the road ends. Last time we were playing an act, but this time we hold back."

"You don't fool us. We were all there and fought you, you had the chance to just straight out killed us, Cosmo was a failsafe in case you couldn't defeat us yourselves, which is the case." Sonic said.

"Okay, you got us there…but we're not alone this time!" Specs said as several more assassins came moving out of the shadows. All armed to the teeth, it was an entire army to be exact. "And she calls herself Cosmo now? How cute!"

"Muttski, take this, we hold them off, you find Cosmo." Tails said as he handed the device to Muttski. Muttski thanked Tails.

The heroes and the assassins charged at one another, and punches and kicks were thrown around, while in the ruckus, Muttski slipped out of the action, his mind set on saving Cosmo. "Hold on, I'm coming!" he thought.

Sidewinder's serpentine form lay coiled up in the fancy chair of his lair as he watched the fire in the fireplace dance and he drank a glass of wine, holding the wine in his tail. He then sensed something as he said: "You come crawling back to me Cissnei?"

"I call myself Cosmo now. You already know why I'm here right?" Cosmo asked.

"You want to step out…no one steps out the Serpentine Society alive. Unless they can defeat me in combat and survive. But you know that I'm the leader of this organization of a reason. I'm the number one assassin in the world." Sidewinder reminded her.

"I'm not afraid. I don't want this. You may have raised me after my parents died, you may have trained me. But what you never did was treating me like an equal like the Freedom Fighters did. And on their behalf I'll fight you. And I'll defeat you." Cosmo said as she struck a battle stance.

"Before we must fight, there's one thing you should know. I took you in and raised you because I saw potential in you, and I don't want it to go to waste. So I need to fuel your fighting spirit before the fight. And since your mind is already set on betraying me, you hating me a bit more won't matter. I killed your family, I was the assassin that was hired by the Raiju to kill!" Sidewinder explained.

"I knew. I always knew. I always thought there was something off about your behavior around me. But tell me, why did you took me in and raised me while you mercilessly decimated my parents and sister?" Cosmo replied.

"You were just a baby. Innocent, not knowing what went on in the world around you. Killing you wouldn't accomplish anything. Your parents and sister, that was just business, doing my job. But killing a baby, that's even below me." Sidewinder explained.

"It doesn't change the fact you're nothing more than an ordinary murderer. And I'll make you pay for what you've done and for what you nearly made me do!" Cosmo said as she was fired up from the fight.

"Then let's fight and color these walls red with the blood that will be shed tonight!" Sidewinder said as he grabbed his cane with his tail and shook it, tossing off a part of the cane, revealing a sword in it. The two roared as they charged at each other.

Grimer spouted two mechanical arms from his back and tried to lash at them with Tails, who just avoided every move carefully. While he was avoiding Grimer's attacks, he studied the arms carefully. "Lemme see, the design is strong, but simplictic. If I do this…" Tails avoided a swipe from the mechanical arms and pried a bolt loose as it passed, making them fall apart. "This happens!" However, Grimer was far from done as he pushed a button on his gauntlet, then aimed it at Tails and it fired a laser. Tails flew up to avoid.

Tails flew through the treetops as he dodged the laser blasts. Grimer got annoyed and removed his left (cybernetic) hand, and a buzzsaw popped out and he activated boosters in his jet as he flew up and tried to slice Tails into pieces. Tails got a few close shaves, then he managed to catch the saw in his namesakes, and it started to spark. Then Tails used an x-shaped cut to shatter it and used his tails to smack Grimer, sending him flying into the ground.

Specs fired his goggle beam at Amy, who dodged by jumping to the side. "Hey sweetcheeks, not mad because I touched your merchandise while I was blinded? Oh well, too bad I have to fry that lovingly gorgeous body of yours." He said as he kept firing shots after shots. As Amy did a dodge jump, she pulled out three arrows, aimed and fired as she flipped upside down.

Specs fried two of the three arrows with his eye beams, but the third one grazed his cheek. "Argh! That does it, I thought I could keep you as a pet, but now I have to kill you!" he growled.

"I belong to one that is Lily!" Amy said.

"Wait, you are with a girl?" Specs said as he suddenly started nosebleeding and drooling. This distraction allowed Amy to fire and arrow right into Specs' cybernetic eyes as he was too busy having pervy thoughts to dodge or fire. "Argh, my eyes, not again!"

Amy rushed up to him and whacked him hard with her bow and knocked him down on the ground. "You creep! That's for touching my boobs!" she then kicks his unconscious form in the nuts, making him jerk awake briefly before he fainted again. "And that's for having these dirty thoughts!"

Lightmare's gauntlet's glowed as she produced two light whips as she lashed with one of them, Fiona dodging by cart wheeling to the side. Lightmare lashed with the second whip, but horizontally this time, Fiona leaning back to avoid before jerking back up. Lightmare then delivered two horizontal lashes with the whip, one high and one low, Fiona jumping up, right in between the whiplashes and lands back on her feet.

Lightmare charged up her light blast and tossed it at Fiona, who performed a somersault over it and attempted to jump kick Lightmare. But she dodged, but due to Fiona being so close now she couldn't properly aimed her light weapons, but she was also well versed in hand to hand combat so she took on Fiona more directly. She tried to punch Fiona, but Fiona ducked under it and uppercuts her, but Lightmare knees her stomach and then slams Fiona's head in a tree.

Fiona got up and delivered a backwards kick to Lightmare's gut and then a spinning kick against the back of her head. Lightmare staggered, raised her hands as they glowed once again, but the glow died down as she went limp and fainted. "Silence is golden my dear." Fiona stated.

Mr. Fry conjured fire in his hands as he tossed fireballs at Rotor, who barely managed to dodge the barrage of fireballs. Rotor pulled out several extinguishing bombs and tossed them at him, but they were fried when Mr. Fry used his fire breath on them. Rotor pulled out another bomb as Mr. Fry breathed more fire, but this time the bomb split in two, the fire going in between the two parts and both parts exploded with an extinguishing foam. Briefly Mr. Fry's skin was not fiery anymore, but the extinguishing bombs didn't keep his flames out for long.

Rotor had to lie down flat on his belly to dodge the stream of fire Mr. Fry fired from his mouth. Rotor pulled out more extinguishing bombs that could split, tossing them all at ones, becoming double the amount. Mr. Fry launched streams of fire from his mouth and hands, decimating nearly all bomb halves but one which hit him between the eyes and dazed him.

Rotor used the opportunity to grab a small pill-shaped object and toss it at Mr. Fry, once it touched his skin, it covers him into some sort of plastic substance that crawls over his entire body and freezes him. "Polymer nanofibers. Can resist up to 5000 degrees of heat. You stay put!" Rotor said.

Bio-Hazard fired a huge geyser of radioactive acid form his mouth, Sonic running to avoid, as the trees behind him all dissolved as it hit the trees instead. "That's so gross. You should eat healthier, if your spit can do that!" Sonic taunted. Bio-Hazard wasn't fazed as he shot out his tentacles, which Sonic also dodged but he saw how the tentacles pierced the trees behind him as spears. "Whoa, I was almost Sonic kebap…" he noted.

Bio-Hazard inhaled deeply to spit more acid, as Sonic saw a tree trunk, dug under it and cut the roots to pull it out, tossed it in the air and kicked it as it came down, right in Bio-Hazard's mouth as it wanted to spit some more, jamming it shut. Though the built-up acid was about to eat through the stomp, it distracted Bio-Hazard enough for Sonic to him in on his head three times, the third one knocking him out. "No piece of sushi is beating me anytime soon!"

Two assassins bring down their blade weapons at Sally, who blocked with her tonfa and spins them around, knocking their weapons away and hitting them on their heads with them. Another assassin launches a jump kick, which Sally dodge by moving aside before hitting the back of its head, knocking him out. A group of assassins surrounded her before she combines her tonfa in a bo staff and uses a circular staff sweep to knock them all away.

Bunnie blocked some blade weapons with her metal arms, breaking them in the progress as she punches several assassins over the horizon with her strength. Some assassins come in with blasters and fire, but Bunnie flies up with her jet boosters and then morphs her hands into cannons, firing at will as it knocks the assassins of their feet.

Antoine has brought out two swords, and was parrying the blades of two assassins at once. Another one tries sneaking up, but Antoine disarmed one of the assassins and caught its sword's hilt between his teeth, and now began parrying three assassin's blades with his own three. Then he disarmed the three with a well timed strike and then cut with each of the three swords, cutting loose their belts and exposed their undies. They covered themselves in embarrassment as they ran off, struggling over their loose pants in the progress.

Dulcy roared as she created fireballs in her hand and tossed them at the assassins, who ran around like crazy to dodge. She then created a huge gust of wind, which became a tornado which sucked in the assassins and scattered them all over the forest, and they ended up in trees, hanging over the branches unconsciously.

Lily rushed by on her hoverboard and knocked over some assassins in the progress. Some with blasters came as Lily tossed her darts, clogging their blasters and blowing them up. As Lily rushed by on her hover board, she performed a break-dance like kick in the progress, knocking them all over.

Sidewinder lunged at Cosmo, who jumped up in the chandelier to dodge and kicks it loose, Sidewinder barely coiling out of the way, as Cosmo moves in for a jumping kick, which Sidewinder coiled out of the way from as he lashed with the sword in his tail, which Cosmo caught in between her foot and hand as she grabs Sidewinder's throat with a free hand and slammed him into a wall. Sidewinder recovered and wrapped around Cosmo, who was cut off from air…but not her teeth as she bit down on Sidewinder, who yelled out in pain and let go as Cosmo kicked him in the face, before Sidewinder struck back with his tail.

Cosmo was sent flying, but she turned in the air and kicked off the wall and trusted forward with her both hands in fists, launching a double punch. Sidewinder swiped the sword, which Cosmo dodged by leaning back, but it was a distraction as Sidewinder bit down on Cosmo's arm and tossed her around the room. Cosmo grasped her arm in pain but fought it and continued her fight with Sidewinder.

However, her vision got blurry due to the bite and as she rushed at Sidewinder she lost the sensation in her feet as she collapsed on all fours. Sidewinder gloomed over her as he said: "I'm a snake as you can tell, so when I bite, it's nasty. While the bite can kill you slowly and painfully, I'll grant you a quick demise now!" Sidewinder said as he rose up, the cane sword in his tail.

"Falcon Punch!" a voice shouted as Muttski, dressed as Captain Falcon rushed in, charged up energy in his fists and punched Sidewinder in the jaw, knocking his fangs out and sending him flying.

Muttski grabbed one of the fangs, squeezed some venom out of it in a vial with a blue liquid and shook it a bit before handing it Cosmo. "It's an all-purpose antidote. Tails always has us carry these around when we're in the jungle, since it's full of poisonous creatures." Muttski explained.

Cosmo took the vial and drank it up and found some feeling return to her limbs. "You followed me…you shouldn't have done that, this is assassin territory. And how did you find it anyways?" Cosmo replied. Muttski reached behind her ear and pulled out the tracker. "You put it there? But why?"

"Muttski had a weird feeling when Cosmo spent time with Muttski, like Cosmo was enjoying the past few days to its fullest extent, and would leave afterwards. Muttski didn't want you to leave, but also didn't want to keep Cosmo prisoner. So being able to follow Cosmo was a good thing." Muttski explained.

"I told you not to do it! I'm not the girl you thought I was. I lied to you and I was waiting to end you, and yet you still trust me? Why?" Cosmo asked.

"Because Muttski trusts the Cosmo Muttski knew. And Muttski made a promise to protect Cosmo, and Muttski always keeps his promises." Muttski said as he stroked her cheek, Cosmo putting her hand on the hand stroking her cheek.

"So that's what it was all about…a boy!" Sidewinder said as he recovered from the blow Muttski gave him. "It's always the power of love is it? How pathetic to fall for something as meaningless as that."

"Meaningless? It never was meaningless. Love made me realize which void there was in my life. It reminded me what life truly is about. It has learned me who are the ones I should really have trusted all along…" Cosmo said angrily. She got up, as she grabbed Muttski's hand. "Remember what you said, when I couldn't find the strength to do things myself…"

"Muttski will be Cosmo's strength. Now let's make a purse out of snake-guy!" Muttski stated. Both lovers rushed at the assassin Lord.

Sidewinder lunged at them, they broke apart, as Sidewinder's attention was on Cosmo, who tried punching him, but he slithered back to avoid, as Muttski landed with his foot on his face, before planting his heel in his jaw. Sidewinder tries to swat Muttski with his tail as Cosmo jumped up, and launched a flying kick, knocking him back. Sidewinder coiled around the room spastically, before lunging at the two with his remaining fangs, only for them to dodge and Sidewinder to bite the ground.

Sidewinder pried himself loose as Muttski approached him, only for Sidewinder to wrap himself around him, only for Cosmo to jump on his head and keep him in a chokehold with her legs, making Sidewinder let go of Muttski. Muttski moved back and changed into a baseball uniform. He grabbed out a bat and a baseball, tossed up the baseball and swatted it with a bat. Cosmo jumped off Sidewinder's back as the baseball at high speed hit Sidewinder in between the eyes, knocking him back.

Then Cosmo jumped up, curled her hand and feet into fists, trusted down and pummeled Sidewinder with her four limbs rapidly. Sidewinder was left battered and bruised at the end of this as he started shaking. Muttski moved closer to him, blew on him, and he fell down defeated.

The two looked at the unconscious assassin lord for a while, before they turned towards one another and fly in each other's arms. Muttski spoke to her, in his real voice: "You're not going to run away again are you, Cosmo?"

"No way I will. I want to stay with you. My real name's actually Cissnei, Cosmo was a lie too…" Cosmo stated.

"Nah, I think Cosmo represents what you wanted to be, and what you have become. Cissnei is the old life you have left behind. That and Cosmo sounds cuter." Muttski assured her.

"Then let me be known as Cosmo from now on. And I'm yours now. Because without you, I can't feel strong." She said. She then kissed Muttski passionately on the lips, who soon returned the kiss.

The heroes, who had defeated all the assassins, came in at the same moment, and they 'awww'-ed at the sight, causing the two to be startled, break up, and blush.

Later on, the authorities had arrived to dismantle the assassin society and arrest the major part. "I can't believe it, a world-wide assassin society that has managed to keep itself of the radar for so long. But now their existence is known, they no longer have the shadows to support them." Sally stated.

"I'm glad you're willing to let me back on your team. Even if…" Cosmo thanked.

"You've proven yourself by helping us expose these assassins. And I should have trusted Muttski's judgment. He's a people person you know. It's just we worked hard to maintain the peace after Eggman's demise that I got a bit overprotective…so I'm sorry I doubted you Cosmo. I'm sure you made Muttski really happy." Tails said.

"It's okay. I'm walking a new path from now on, a better one, and I'm walking it with the one I love." Cosmo said as she hooked her arm into Muttski's.

"Muttski truly is blessed." He said as he pecked Cosmo's cheek. "So, is Cosmo coming with Muttski? Muttski's brothers would love to meet you."

"You think they'll like me?" Cosmo asked.

"Sure they will. And afterwards we still got that season finale of the Alice in Wonderland anime to watch, it was the only episode we didn't get to watch before you left." Muttski said.

"I'd love that." Cosmo said as the lovebirds walked off to the sunset.

"They truly deserve each other." Sonic said.

"They sure do. Now, why don't we all go home and spend time with our own soulmates?" Sally suggested.

Somewhere else, at two different spots, two baddies were now preparing their master plans. Orbot, Cubot and Elise reported to their master, the Dark Being. "The stations are set up around the globe. We're ready to launch a simultaneous attack soon."

"Excellent. Oh, I'm tingling all over…anyway, now that any trace of Eggman is gone, it's time to start anew and like a phoenix rise from the ashes and build a more glorious empire then before."

Somewhere else, a rebuilt Shellcracker and Dragonfly reported to their new master the Hooded one. Behind the Hooded one was a single eyeball-like machine on a mechanical arm that spouted from the ceiling.

"We are ready to follow your lead master. We'll make the world burn." Shellcracker said in his dual voices.

"You better will. Luckily the discovery of my arctic base hasn't had too much consequences and the operations still can continue as planned. V.I.O.L.E.T.?" the Hooded one said as he turned to the eyeball computer.

"Yes sweetie?" it asked in a feminine voice.

"Activate the sleeper agents. It's time to move out the shadows and into the light, where I'll shine!" the Hooded one ordered.

"As you wish, honey! Wakey-wakey sleepy heads…" Violet said.

And with that both villains set their plans into motions…and the heroes would need to fight harder than they ever would once they see what the bad guys have in store.

TO BE CONTINUED


	54. The thing about Cosmo III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: THE THING ABOUT COSMO, PART III

The Serpentine Society…a hidden society of assassins who introduce members with shady pasts, and erase those, as those who are part of the Society, cease to exist, they are forever part of the Society. They remain hidden, only coming out to take out the target they are assigned to. Their headquarters was just as hidden as they were. Not because of their remote location in the forest, not because there is an invisibility veil, but because no one ever leaves alive.

Several lower assassins, ordinary footsoldiers, who have no gimmick unlike the ones our heroes faced, were patrolling outside the headquarters. They all had various weapons from firearms to blade weapons. One was looking around right outside the headquarters, as something from the shadows grabbed him from behind and knocked him out.

Two others in another part were walking around, as one was grabbed form above and pulled up, the other looking around where his friend might be, only to get grabbed as well. They'd be found later, gagged, bound and knocked out inside a tree.

The figure leaped out of the tree and rushed up to the castle, ignoring the veil because she knows where the HQ is anyway. The archers and snipers on top of the roof had searchlights to see if anyone could sneak past them. However, the intruder was nimble and using speed and agility, it stayed clear of the light, before climbing up the roof and pick them off one by one.

Specs, Lightmare, Bio-Hazard, Grimer and Mr. Fry were waiting on the inside. They were in the presence of a large Mobian snake wearing a red robe. One of his eyes was blind and milky white, it's other eye yellow and slit-like. He had long black hair though was balding on top and a monocle, and held a cane in the tip if it's tail. This was Lord Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpentine Society.

"Cosmo hasn't reported back. She's taking too long, and we can't get a signal on her communicator. She also scrambled the channels so we can't track her down through it. Either they have caught on to her, or she got cold feet." Sidewinder said.

"Never liked her anyways. She was so sweet and cutesy and I hate it! I prefer more of Lightmare's type…if only she would be more talkative, I don't even know if she's interested in me. Next time you adopt a daughter with more talk in her?" Specs ranted, Lightmare smacking the back of his head. "Ouch! Okay, clearly not interested."

"Sir, what if Cissnei has spilled our secrets? What if someone finds us here?" Grimer asked.

"If they do, I have an army of assassins waiting and they won't spare them." Sidewinder stated.

"What about Cissnei?" Specs asked.

Before Sidewinder could answer, a grunt walked in through the door as he said: "My lord, someone has disabled our outer patrols and our rooftop guards. He's somewhere in the headquarters, but we were up until now unable to capture him or her, like it knows how we work."

"I guess I answered my own question. You want us to make the playing along we did earlier into the real thing?" Specs asked.

"No, let her come to me. I'll deal with her personally. There is much that I have to discuss with her before I'll make her pay for her betrayal. You just wait outside in case any of those Freedom Fighters might have followed her, they can't leave with our secrets." Sidewinder ordered. The five bowed as they went outside. Sidewinder sighed and growled at the same time. "You really did it this time, Cissnei."

The Freedom Fighters rushed through the jungle. They never went to this part of the forest because of the predators. They immediately ran into a Basilisk (samm velociraptor-like predator, poisonous fangs, nasty hypnotic gaze) but Tails repelled him with a device that created a high pitch tone that hurt the Basilisk's ears as it ran off.

Muttski, being a dog, also was affected but at least he had brought earplugs just in case. He followed his nose while Tails held a tracker device. "Muttski and Freedom Fighters are getting close. Muttski can smell it." He stated. The Muttski raised his hand, gesturing the others to halt.

"What's up Mutt…" Sonic asked, but Muttski made a 'shhhhhhh' sound with his mouth. Muttski had closed his eyes and listened. The others followed their examples. Then in a flash each of the heroes turned around and launched a punch or a kick, making several assassins who had camouflaged themselves visible and knocking them out. "Muttski's right, we are close."

"My tracker device could have told me that too. But now we have to be careful, we are in the lair of the beast right now." Tails stated.

The heroes then heard clapping as the turned towards the source of the sound: Specs was happily clapping, his four comrades not joining in and just staring. "Well done, not many have the skill to detect our forces. But this is where the road ends. Last time we were playing an act, but this time we hold back."

"You don't fool us. We were all there and fought you, you had the chance to just straight out killed us, Cosmo was a failsafe in case you couldn't defeat us yourselves, which is the case." Sonic said.

"Okay, you got us there…but we're not alone this time!" Specs said as several more assassins came moving out of the shadows. All armed to the teeth, it was an entire army to be exact. "And she calls herself Cosmo now? How cute!"

"Muttski, take this, we hold them off, you find Cosmo." Tails said as he handed the device to Muttski. Muttski thanked Tails.

The heroes and the assassins charged at one another, and punches and kicks were thrown around, while in the ruckus, Muttski slipped out of the action, his mind set on saving Cosmo. "Hold on, I'm coming!" he thought.

Sidewinder's serpentine form lay coiled up in the fancy chair of his lair as he watched the fire in the fireplace dance and he drank a glass of wine, holding the wine in his tail. He then sensed something as he said: "You come crawling back to me Cissnei?"

"I call myself Cosmo now. You already know why I'm here right?" Cosmo asked.

"You want to step out…no one steps out the Serpentine Society alive. Unless they can defeat me in combat and survive. But you know that I'm the leader of this organization of a reason. I'm the number one assassin in the world." Sidewinder reminded her.

"I'm not afraid. I don't want this. You may have raised me after my parents died, you may have trained me. But what you never did was treating me like an equal like the Freedom Fighters did. And on their behalf I'll fight you. And I'll defeat you." Cosmo said as she struck a battle stance.

"Before we must fight, there's one thing you should know. I took you in and raised you because I saw potential in you, and I don't want it to go to waste. So I need to fuel your fighting spirit before the fight. And since your mind is already set on betraying me, you hating me a bit more won't matter. I killed your family, I was the assassin that was hired by the Raiju to kill!" Sidewinder explained.

"I knew. I always knew. I always thought there was something off about your behavior around me. But tell me, why did you took me in and raised me while you mercilessly decimated my parents and sister?" Cosmo replied.

"You were just a baby. Innocent, not knowing what went on in the world around you. Killing you wouldn't accomplish anything. Your parents and sister, that was just business, doing my job. But killing a baby, that's even below me." Sidewinder explained.

"It doesn't change the fact you're nothing more than an ordinary murderer. And I'll make you pay for what you've done and for what you nearly made me do!" Cosmo said as she was fired up from the fight.

"Then let's fight and color these walls red with the blood that will be shed tonight!" Sidewinder said as he grabbed his cane with his tail and shook it, tossing off a part of the cane, revealing a sword in it. The two roared as they charged at each other.

Grimer spouted two mechanical arms from his back and tried to lash at them with Tails, who just avoided every move carefully. While he was avoiding Grimer's attacks, he studied the arms carefully. "Lemme see, the design is strong, but simplictic. If I do this…" Tails avoided a swipe from the mechanical arms and pried a bolt loose as it passed, making them fall apart. "This happens!" However, Grimer was far from done as he pushed a button on his gauntlet, then aimed it at Tails and it fired a laser. Tails flew up to avoid.

Tails flew through the treetops as he dodged the laser blasts. Grimer got annoyed and removed his left (cybernetic) hand, and a buzzsaw popped out and he activated boosters in his jet as he flew up and tried to slice Tails into pieces. Tails got a few close shaves, then he managed to catch the saw in his namesakes, and it started to spark. Then Tails used an x-shaped cut to shatter it and used his tails to smack Grimer, sending him flying into the ground.

Specs fired his goggle beam at Amy, who dodged by jumping to the side. "Hey sweetcheeks, not mad because I touched your merchandise while I was blinded? Oh well, too bad I have to fry that lovingly gorgeous body of yours." He said as he kept firing shots after shots. As Amy did a dodge jump, she pulled out three arrows, aimed and fired as she flipped upside down.

Specs fried two of the three arrows with his eye beams, but the third one grazed his cheek. "Argh! That does it, I thought I could keep you as a pet, but now I have to kill you!" he growled.

"I belong to one that is Lily!" Amy said.

"Wait, you are with a girl?" Specs said as he suddenly started nosebleeding and drooling. This distraction allowed Amy to fire and arrow right into Specs' cybernetic eyes as he was too busy having pervy thoughts to dodge or fire. "Argh, my eyes, not again!"

Amy rushed up to him and whacked him hard with her bow and knocked him down on the ground. "You creep! That's for touching my boobs!" she then kicks his unconscious form in the nuts, making him jerk awake briefly before he fainted again. "And that's for having these dirty thoughts!"

Lightmare's gauntlet's glowed as she produced two light whips as she lashed with one of them, Fiona dodging by cart wheeling to the side. Lightmare lashed with the second whip, but horizontally this time, Fiona leaning back to avoid before jerking back up. Lightmare then delivered two horizontal lashes with the whip, one high and one low, Fiona jumping up, right in between the whiplashes and lands back on her feet.

Lightmare charged up her light blast and tossed it at Fiona, who performed a somersault over it and attempted to jump kick Lightmare. But she dodged, but due to Fiona being so close now she couldn't properly aimed her light weapons, but she was also well versed in hand to hand combat so she took on Fiona more directly. She tried to punch Fiona, but Fiona ducked under it and uppercuts her, but Lightmare knees her stomach and then slams Fiona's head in a tree.

Fiona got up and delivered a backwards kick to Lightmare's gut and then a spinning kick against the back of her head. Lightmare staggered, raised her hands as they glowed once again, but the glow died down as she went limp and fainted. "Silence is golden my dear." Fiona stated.

Mr. Fry conjured fire in his hands as he tossed fireballs at Rotor, who barely managed to dodge the barrage of fireballs. Rotor pulled out several extinguishing bombs and tossed them at him, but they were fried when Mr. Fry used his fire breath on them. Rotor pulled out another bomb as Mr. Fry breathed more fire, but this time the bomb split in two, the fire going in between the two parts and both parts exploded with an extinguishing foam. Briefly Mr. Fry's skin was not fiery anymore, but the extinguishing bombs didn't keep his flames out for long.

Rotor had to lie down flat on his belly to dodge the stream of fire Mr. Fry fired from his mouth. Rotor pulled out more extinguishing bombs that could split, tossing them all at ones, becoming double the amount. Mr. Fry launched streams of fire from his mouth and hands, decimating nearly all bomb halves but one which hit him between the eyes and dazed him.

Rotor used the opportunity to grab a small pill-shaped object and toss it at Mr. Fry, once it touched his skin, it covers him into some sort of plastic substance that crawls over his entire body and freezes him. "Polymer nanofibers. Can resist up to 5000 degrees of heat. You stay put!" Rotor said.

Bio-Hazard fired a huge geyser of radioactive acid form his mouth, Sonic running to avoid, as the trees behind him all dissolved as it hit the trees instead. "That's so gross. You should eat healthier, if your spit can do that!" Sonic taunted. Bio-Hazard wasn't fazed as he shot out his tentacles, which Sonic also dodged but he saw how the tentacles pierced the trees behind him as spears. "Whoa, I was almost Sonic kebap…" he noted.

Bio-Hazard inhaled deeply to spit more acid, as Sonic saw a tree trunk, dug under it and cut the roots to pull it out, tossed it in the air and kicked it as it came down, right in Bio-Hazard's mouth as it wanted to spit some more, jamming it shut. Though the built-up acid was about to eat through the stomp, it distracted Bio-Hazard enough for Sonic to him in on his head three times, the third one knocking him out. "No piece of sushi is beating me anytime soon!"

Two assassins bring down their blade weapons at Sally, who blocked with her tonfa and spins them around, knocking their weapons away and hitting them on their heads with them. Another assassin launches a jump kick, which Sally dodge by moving aside before hitting the back of its head, knocking him out. A group of assassins surrounded her before she combines her tonfa in a bo staff and uses a circular staff sweep to knock them all away.

Bunnie blocked some blade weapons with her metal arms, breaking them in the progress as she punches several assassins over the horizon with her strength. Some assassins come in with blasters and fire, but Bunnie flies up with her jet boosters and then morphs her hands into cannons, firing at will as it knocks the assassins of their feet.

Antoine has brought out two swords, and was parrying the blades of two assassins at once. Another one tries sneaking up, but Antoine disarmed one of the assassins and caught its sword's hilt between his teeth, and now began parrying three assassin's blades with his own three. Then he disarmed the three with a well timed strike and then cut with each of the three swords, cutting loose their belts and exposed their undies. They covered themselves in embarrassment as they ran off, struggling over their loose pants in the progress.

Dulcy roared as she created fireballs in her hand and tossed them at the assassins, who ran around like crazy to dodge. She then created a huge gust of wind, which became a tornado which sucked in the assassins and scattered them all over the forest, and they ended up in trees, hanging over the branches unconsciously.

Lily rushed by on her hoverboard and knocked over some assassins in the progress. Some with blasters came as Lily tossed her darts, clogging their blasters and blowing them up. As Lily rushed by on her hover board, she performed a break-dance like kick in the progress, knocking them all over.

Sidewinder lunged at Cosmo, who jumped up in the chandelier to dodge and kicks it loose, Sidewinder barely coiling out of the way, as Cosmo moves in for a jumping kick, which Sidewinder coiled out of the way from as he lashed with the sword in his tail, which Cosmo caught in between her foot and hand as she grabs Sidewinder's throat with a free hand and slammed him into a wall. Sidewinder recovered and wrapped around Cosmo, who was cut off from air…but not her teeth as she bit down on Sidewinder, who yelled out in pain and let go as Cosmo kicked him in the face, before Sidewinder struck back with his tail.

Cosmo was sent flying, but she turned in the air and kicked off the wall and trusted forward with her both hands in fists, launching a double punch. Sidewinder swiped the sword, which Cosmo dodged by leaning back, but it was a distraction as Sidewinder bit down on Cosmo's arm and tossed her around the room. Cosmo grasped her arm in pain but fought it and continued her fight with Sidewinder.

However, her vision got blurry due to the bite and as she rushed at Sidewinder she lost the sensation in her feet as she collapsed on all fours. Sidewinder gloomed over her as he said: "I'm a snake as you can tell, so when I bite, it's nasty. While the bite can kill you slowly and painfully, I'll grant you a quick demise now!" Sidewinder said as he rose up, the cane sword in his tail.

"Falcon Punch!" a voice shouted as Muttski, dressed as Captain Falcon rushed in, charged up energy in his fists and punched Sidewinder in the jaw, knocking his fangs out and sending him flying.

Muttski grabbed one of the fangs, squeezed some venom out of it in a vial with a blue liquid and shook it a bit before handing it Cosmo. "It's an all-purpose antidote. Tails always has us carry these around when we're in the jungle, since it's full of poisonous creatures." Muttski explained.

Cosmo took the vial and drank it up and found some feeling return to her limbs. "You followed me…you shouldn't have done that, this is assassin territory. And how did you find it anyways?" Cosmo replied. Muttski reached behind her ear and pulled out the tracker. "You put it there? But why?"

"Muttski had a weird feeling when Cosmo spent time with Muttski, like Cosmo was enjoying the past few days to its fullest extent, and would leave afterwards. Muttski didn't want you to leave, but also didn't want to keep Cosmo prisoner. So being able to follow Cosmo was a good thing." Muttski explained.

"I told you not to do it! I'm not the girl you thought I was. I lied to you and I was waiting to end you, and yet you still trust me? Why?" Cosmo asked.

"Because Muttski trusts the Cosmo Muttski knew. And Muttski made a promise to protect Cosmo, and Muttski always keeps his promises." Muttski said as he stroked her cheek, Cosmo putting her hand on the hand stroking her cheek.

"So that's what it was all about…a boy!" Sidewinder said as he recovered from the blow Muttski gave him. "It's always the power of love is it? How pathetic to fall for something as meaningless as that."

"Meaningless? It never was meaningless. Love made me realize which void there was in my life. It reminded me what life truly is about. It has learned me who are the ones I should really have trusted all along…" Cosmo said angrily. She got up, as she grabbed Muttski's hand. "Remember what you said, when I couldn't find the strength to do things myself…"

"Muttski will be Cosmo's strength. Now let's make a purse out of snake-guy!" Muttski stated. Both lovers rushed at the assassin Lord.

Sidewinder lunged at them, they broke apart, as Sidewinder's attention was on Cosmo, who tried punching him, but he slithered back to avoid, as Muttski landed with his foot on his face, before planting his heel in his jaw. Sidewinder tries to swat Muttski with his tail as Cosmo jumped up, and launched a flying kick, knocking him back. Sidewinder coiled around the room spastically, before lunging at the two with his remaining fangs, only for them to dodge and Sidewinder to bite the ground.

Sidewinder pried himself loose as Muttski approached him, only for Sidewinder to wrap himself around him, only for Cosmo to jump on his head and keep him in a chokehold with her legs, making Sidewinder let go of Muttski. Muttski moved back and changed into a baseball uniform. He grabbed out a bat and a baseball, tossed up the baseball and swatted it with a bat. Cosmo jumped off Sidewinder's back as the baseball at high speed hit Sidewinder in between the eyes, knocking him back.

Then Cosmo jumped up, curled her hand and feet into fists, trusted down and pummeled Sidewinder with her four limbs rapidly. Sidewinder was left battered and bruised at the end of this as he started shaking. Muttski moved closer to him, blew on him, and he fell down defeated.

The two looked at the unconscious assassin lord for a while, before they turned towards one another and fly in each other's arms. Muttski spoke to her, in his real voice: "You're not going to run away again are you, Cosmo?"

"No way I will. I want to stay with you. My real name's actually Cissnei, Cosmo was a lie too…" Cosmo stated.

"Nah, I think Cosmo represents what you wanted to be, and what you have become. Cissnei is the old life you have left behind. That and Cosmo sounds cuter." Muttski assured her.

"Then let me be known as Cosmo from now on. And I'm yours now. Because without you, I can't feel strong." She said. She then kissed Muttski passionately on the lips, who soon returned the kiss.

The heroes, who had defeated all the assassins, came in at the same moment, and they 'awww'-ed at the sight, causing the two to be startled, break up, and blush.

Later on, the authorities had arrived to dismantle the assassin society and arrest the major part. "I can't believe it, a world-wide assassin society that has managed to keep itself of the radar for so long. But now their existence is known, they no longer have the shadows to support them." Sally stated.

"I'm glad you're willing to let me back on your team. Even if…" Cosmo thanked.

"You've proven yourself by helping us expose these assassins. And I should have trusted Muttski's judgment. He's a people person you know. It's just we worked hard to maintain the peace after Eggman's demise that I got a bit overprotective…so I'm sorry I doubted you Cosmo. I'm sure you made Muttski really happy." Tails said.

"It's okay. I'm walking a new path from now on, a better one, and I'm walking it with the one I love." Cosmo said as she hooked her arm into Muttski's.

"Muttski truly is blessed." He said as he pecked Cosmo's cheek. "So, is Cosmo coming with Muttski? Muttski's brothers would love to meet you."

"You think they'll like me?" Cosmo asked.

"Sure they will. And afterwards we still got that season finale of the Alice in Wonderland anime to watch, it was the only episode we didn't get to watch before you left." Muttski said.

"I'd love that." Cosmo said as the lovebirds walked off to the sunset.

"They truly deserve each other." Sonic said.

"They sure do. Now, why don't we all go home and spend time with our own soulmates?" Sally suggested.

Somewhere else, at two different spots, two baddies were now preparing their master plans. Orbot, Cubot and Elise reported to their master, the Dark Being. "The stations are set up around the globe. We're ready to launch a simultaneous attack soon."

"Excellent. Oh, I'm tingling all over…anyway, now that any trace of Eggman is gone, it's time to start anew and like a phoenix rise from the ashes and build a more glorious empire then before."

Somewhere else, a rebuilt Shellcracker and Dragonfly reported to their new master the Hooded one. Behind the Hooded one was a single eyeball-like machine on a mechanical arm that spouted from the ceiling.

"We are ready to follow your lead master. We'll make the world burn." Shellcracker said in his dual voices.

"You better will. Luckily the discovery of my arctic base hasn't had too much consequences and the operations still can continue as planned. V.I.O.L.E.T.?" the Hooded one said as he turned to the eyeball computer.

"Yes sweetie?" it asked in a feminine voice.

"Activate the sleeper agents. It's time to move out the shadows and into the light, where I'll shine!" the Hooded one ordered.

"As you wish, honey! Wakey-wakey sleepy heads…" Violet said.

And with that both villains set their plans into motions…and the heroes would need to fight harder than they ever would once they see what the bad guys have in store.

TO BE CONTINUED


	55. A new war begins I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: A NEW WAR BEGINS, PART I

From their lairs, two great evils were about to strike, ready to destroy the tranquility in the world that only recently had been rebuilt. Both of them had set the pieces into place.

The Dark Being loomed over Orbot, Cubot and Elise. "Very soon, I'll show those Freedom Fighters, the true face of evil, the true face of fear. And what better moment to show them then the day they should remember most fondly…only to have their hopes and dreams crushed instead." He growled in an excited tone.

"Not to be disrespectful, my Lord, but in case the invasion fails and they manage to fend us off, do you know what we should do? Do we have a backup plan?" Orbot asked.

"I have multiple fleets ready, ready to attack multiple targets in the world, that's why I have send Elise to do the past few months: reactivating some old hidden undiscovered factories to establish new forces. Even if we fail to acquire one target, we'll be able to conquer other territories, and use the resources there to rebuild ourselves stronger than ever and return. In any case…we can't lose this in the grand scheme of things." The Dark Being replied.

"Yee-haw, now that's a man with a plan. But what about dem rumors about this Hooded fella?" Orbot asked, still stuck in his cowboy accent.

"He'll be dealt with eventually. But first I'll need to build up my forces to I can crush him and his pathetic army like an elephant crushes an ant under its foot." The Dark Being noted.

Meanwhile with the Hooded One, he sat on his throne as the rebuild Eggman Generals, now sporting the symbol of the Hooded One himself, reported to him. "Master, our sleeper agents are activated now, and they await instructions for the invasion." Shellcracker reported.

"Perfect. The buffoons in the outside worlds don't even notice that I've replaced some important key persons with my own programmed clones. Once they take down everything from the inside, or their manipulations put everything in place, I'll be there to claim control of those areas. With the newly acquired territory and its resources, I can expand my own forces to the point I'll be able to dominate the world."

"What about the rumors about this other guy, the 'Dark Being' as he's called?" Dragonfly asked.

"He'll be dealt with in time. Once my forces are strengthened by the resources of the conquered regions, I'll be able to crush his forces like a worm under a steamroller. Nothing will stand in my way." The Hooded One replied.

"But what if they're sitting down? Or if they're dancing instead? Shall I put on some music?" Violet said insanely and illogically as she is.

"Maybe later. Now, prepare my main fleet for the invasion of the Emerald Islands. While the remaining forces are at work, I want to personally oversee how my armies decimate the Freedom Fighter who destroyed Eggman. What prestige that'll bring me." The Hooded One said.

Both villains had stood up at the same time, and at the same time had given the same order to their minions: "With that said, unleash the fleets!" and around the world, several regions would simultaneously be under attack.

Around the world, several Freedom Fighters groups had been busy helping rebuild their homes as our heroes had on the Emerald Island Group. But would they be surprised when they found several large airships emerge from out of nowhere and unleash a whole army of Swatbots on them…while at the same time, undercover agents of the Hooded One would reveal themselves and put everything in motion. Anyways, no one had seen it coming.

In Downunda, Bill, Barby, Trash, Guru, Walt and Stu had been attacked by Swatbots and a new improved model of Wing Dingoes, fighting them off as best as they could. But it soon became clear they were outnumbered and they had to retreat. "Trash, Walt, help me hold off these forces. Barby, you take the others and evacuate the city." Bill ordered. The Freedom Fighters did as told by their leader.

Walt tossed his explosive boomerangs as they embedded themselves in the Swatbots and exploded. Several Wing Dingoes swarmed upon him, but he uses his boomerangs as makeshift blades to cut them in half. Meanwhile, Trash was using his brute strength as he tosses around the Swatbots as ragdolls. Though a dozen Swats pinned him down to the ground rugby style he tossed them off him. Bill had pulled out two guns and started shooting the heads off the Swatbots. "Help me!" a voice said as they saw how a platypus girl was brought towards a portable roboticizer.

"She needs our help!" Bill said as he wanted to make his way towards them, but several more Swatbots got in their way. "Dang it!" he said as she shot at them. But the Downunda Freedom Fighters were so occupied they couldn't do anything as the platypus girl was roboticized form head to toe.

"Did I just see that happen?" Trash asked surprised. They haven't seen anything like it, and it was a horrible thing to see.

They found themselves outnumbered, Bill being swarmed by Swatbots, who pulled his guns out of his hands and grabbed onto him. "Run! Save yourselves and the citizens. We can't win this!" Bill stated.

"We're not leaving you behind!" Walt said as he had no more boomerangs and instead was kicking the swatbots with his wallaby legs.

"That's an order! Tell Barby she's in charge now…" Bill said as he was dragged away. There was nothing Trash and Walt could do, there were too many Swatbots in their way, and if they tried to save Bill, they'd get captured too. They hung their heads and fought back their tears as they escaped. "You want a piece of me metalheads, you want a piece of me?" Bill growled as he was tossed in the Roboticizer and the Swatbots pushed the button…

In Mercia, Rob's Freedom Fighters were defending the castle from a group of Fox Fighters. Several citizens were already being evacuated through underground tunnels. Rob fired arrows from on top of the castle walls, as Shortfuse tossed bombs, Tekno fired her blasters, Ebony her spells, and Porker and John engaged the Fox Fighters that got in up close. "Don't let them get these castle walls! We won't let them take Mercia again!" Rob said.

But then someone on the inside lowered the drawbridge. It was oddly enough Friar Buck, a good friend and colleague of Porker. "Buck, what are you doing, you're letting them in!" Rob said as he turned to the Friar.

"That's the thing, you dolt!" a hissing voice sounded. Lord Hood, a familiar face, now sporting a black armor with limbs came in, leading the Fox Fighters. "This good Friar is actually one of my master's cloned sleeper agents. Now we take Mercia in the name of the Hooded One, and he'll have me rule in his stead."

"You monster…first you're after my cousin and now you unite yourself with another great evil. You're a slimy bastard!" Rob growled.

"I'm a snake, what the heck did you expect? I'm doing what's natural to me! Fox Fighters, get them!" he said as another group of Fox Fighters came in and swarmed upon them.

"We have no other choice but to retreat, we are outnumbered. Stay close to me, I'll cast a spell!" Ebony said as she concentrated and said: "Ytefas ot su tropelet." A bright light engulfed the group, but Hood has managed to grab a distracted John Lightfoot by his tail and pulled him away from the spell as the others teleported out without him.

The Fox Fighters bound down and gagged by the Fox Fighters. "Now, I'll be taking place on my throne, while you convert this specimen in a cyborg warrior for my master's goals. He'll be a nice addition to the Legion." Lord Hood said smirking.

"What are you posers waiting for, get them!" Commander Brass of the GUN's assault forces said as his soldiers ran into battle with the army of Swatbots that started invading. They had some great artillery, but so did the Swatbots. There were some casualties on both sides, several soldiers being shot down, as well as several Swatbots.

The both sides were equal, with the exception the Swatbots had a fleet on their side. The flagships fired on the ground, blasting their way through the city and the army. Several people were evacuated into GUN Trucks, and would be transported to a safe haven, an underground city in Soumerca. "Commander, we can't hold them off much longer, we have to retreat, we're suffering too much losses!" Colonel Topaz said to her superior.

"Well, I'm not handing these robots our city on a silver platter. Brass said as he rushed forward and kept shooting at the Swatbots, being the stubborn commander he is. He ran out of ammo, but instead smacked the heads of a Swatbot with his weapon. Though he was hit by a Swatbot's electric staff from behind, as he was knocked out and dragged off.

Topaz wanted to go out and help her commander, but it would only result in her own capture if she did so, so she had to make the hard choice of helping her commander or the city, and she had to choose the latter. "I'm sorry…Retreat! Bring those civilians to safety." She said as she retreated with her forces and directed her attention to evacuating the civilians.

The Swatbots carried the unconscious Hugo Brass and the surviving GUN soldiers they managed to capture towards the Roboticizers, ready to add another few Overlanders to the collection of robotic slaves.

Soumerca, where the Wolf Pack and their adopted Felidae brethren Elektra, Big, Honey and Mirror aided fending off the invading Fox Fighters, who were aided by some cybernetically enhanced Felidae. "And I was hoping to never see their ugly cat faces again…no offense guys!" Reynard said as he skewered some Fox Fighters on his spear and then tossed it in a Felidae.

"None taken. We have more immediate matters to worry about." Elektra said as she double kicked a couple of Felidae warriors. Though the Wolf Pack were the more skillful fighters, and despite their traditional ways occasionally used tech provided by the Freedom Fighters in times of need, the Felidae had enhancements, brute force and a group of robotic minions to help.

Diablo received a hard blow to the face as he was sent flying, courtesy of the now cyborg Razorklaw, sporting two robotic arms. "I've been waiting so long for this…now if I take this land in the name of the Hooded One, I'll rule it in his name, and I didn't even need to marry that treacherous wench." Razorklaw said gleefully. He raised his claws: "My master rather have as many specimens brought alive for conversion, but how could I resist a chance at revenge?"

However, Elektra came to the aid of her husband as she kicked Razorklaw in the back of his head, before Big grabbed his fishing rod, used it to tie up Razorklaw, before swinging him around in circles and toss him away. Elektra helped her husband get up as they rejoined the pack.

"We can't win this. We have to retreat. To the Great Unknown!" Lupe said as she and the wolves and the handful of cats amongst her tribes retreated.

"Wait, where's my sister?" Honey asked, as she then saw how two Fox Fighters dragged off her twin sisters away. "Mirror!" she said as she wanted to go after her, but Big picked her up and dragged her along, though he didn't want to give up on Mirror, they knew they couldn't save her now. "No, I need to go back, I need to save her! Mirror…" Honey said, crying all the way.

In the Dragon Kingdom, all six known tribes were under attack, but at two different fronts. On one front, the Swatbots fought the Gossamer, Ushi and Yagyu clans were attacked by a herd of samurai-esque Swatbots and robotic dragons. Normally the three tribes were enemies but they fought the common enemy for now, but that didn't mean they worked together. "Lord Jun Kun, we are outnumbered. We can't make it alone. Maybe we should ask…" a Mobian ox of the Ushi clan asked their leader.

"No! We are the strongest, we are the most powerful, we don't need any help. Let them fight to protect their clans, but they don't need to get in our way." Jun Kun said as he smacked his mace into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked several Swatbots away. However, a robot dragon flew by and snatched his mace. "Hey, that's mine!" he growled, only for several other robot dragons to fly at him and coil around him like pythons, holding him in place.

Meanwhile, the Yagyu Clan, the clan of bats, under the leadership of their Lord, Yami, weren't doing great either. "We're not winning this. Let's move back to the shadows for a tactical retreat." The cowardly leader said.

"You mean running away because we're getting our butts handed?" a Yagyu asked, only for his Lord to shoot dirty looks at him. "But…your name for it sounds better." The Yagyu said scared as the bat ninja's tried to retreat, only to be cut off by a group of Swatbots, who tossed nets at them, before they carried the helpless Yagyu along.

The Gossamers lamented how the other two clans didn't want to help them against the invaders and hung their heads in defeat. They foresaw great danger in the future, but never knew how bad it was. "Lady Uma. We need to retreat. It's better for the future to fight another day, when the time is right!" a spider ninja said to their silent leader, Uma Arachnis. She nodded as she ordered her forces to retreat. They tossed smoke bombs to cover their escape.

At the other side of Chun-Nan, three other clans had been fighting against a group of Fox Fighters. Or to be exact, two of the clans, the monkey clan of the Saru and the chameleon Clan of the Shinobi fought against the Fox Fighters, the Raiju fought alongside them.

Unlike with Lord Hood and Razorklaw, the Bride of Conquering Storm hasn't joined the Hooded One by her free will, since she had her pride and honor. But this wasn't the real one, but another one of the Hooded One's sleeper clone agents. The real one has met her demise in an unfortunate way. But the other Raiju didn't know that and followed this one blindly in the arms of the Hooded one and being converted into Cyborgs.

Though the Raiju and the Fox Fighters did a number on the two other clans, the chameleons and the Saru stood strong, using their camouflage, agility and smarter tactics to stand her ground, as well as working much better together. Their leaders Ken Khan, Lord of the Saru and the Bride of Constant Vigil were on good terms. Ken Khan raised his weapon, a mystical rod that controls lightning as it rained down on the Fox Fighters, but didn't harm his subjects. Ken picked up a few wounded Saru and flew them away to the infirmary of his palace on his cloud Nimbus. As he arrived, several monkey nurses came in. "Take care of them, they're badly hurt." He said. The nurses did as told as they carried them off to tend to their wounds.

Ken sat down, and caught his breath. He has been fighting for hours and needed a few minutes rest before rejoining the fight. "A drink my lord?" a Saru nurse asked as she offered a class of water.

"Er…yeah, thank you." he said as he drank it. He didn't notice the dull look in the eyes of the nurse. It was then that he was surprised that several Raiju came barging in, led by Conquering Storm herself. "You! How did you get here?" he said as he grabbed his staff and aimed it at her.

"My master, the Hooded One has put a few sleeper agents in your clan…one of them having spiked your drink." She noted. Ken Khan then suddenly felt dizzy as the drink began to work. "It's a love potion. You'll be head over heels for me…you'll willingly surrender yourself and your clan to me, and to the Hooded One. We'll have an arranged marriage that unites the Saru and the Raiju under the Hooded One's reign." She explained.

Ken tried fighting the effects of the potion, which was created by the Hooded One himself, to specifically affect him…so Ken couldn't fight it as he soon was forgetting what he was doing and looked lovingly at Conquering Storm with a pink glow in his eyes. "Whatever you say, my dear…"

A single female Shinobi reported to the Bride of Constant Vigil. "Milady, reports have stated that not only the Saru retreat from the fight, but Ken Khan has announced his alliance to the Raiju…he's even going to marry their Bride, straight out of nowhere!" she reported.

"Do my ears deceive me, Liza? What has this world gone to? What threat or pressure could have made Ken turn from the light like that? There is no other choice but to retreat and bide our time before we have our answers, and can strike back. Anything else?" the Bride reacted.

"Some of our elite, like Valdez and Yuri have been captured. And several more have been injured. Retreat is indeed the best plan we can think off." The shinobi ninja named Liza replied.

"How I wish my son were here right now." the Bride of Constant Vigil said.

"So am I, milady." Liza said as she pulled out a picture of her and Espio, holding hands and looking like a loving couple.

Fleabyte and the Wild West Freedom Fighters were fighting hard against the Gunslinger-esque Swatbots that invaded the town. And like the other Freedom Fighters they were forced to retreat with the evacuated citizens. "Those yellow-bellied skunks. Just wait until we get back, then we'll show them what we're made off." The old gruff cat growled.

The Swatbots had blown up parts of the town, including the prison, and Jack Rabbit and his gang tried to escape in the confusion. "Okay guys, this comes at a good time, but we're still targets for these chrome domes, so whatever you do, stay out of sight and don't…" Jack said before they ran into some Swatbots. "PANIC!" He said as he and his gang tried to run, only for some Robians to cut them off, amongst them Shift E. Wolf… "Oh crud!" Jack said before he and his gang were captured.

In Efrika, where the Freedom Fighter academy was located, Ari Ram and his forces were fighting off the invading Fox Fighters. "Darn it. First Egg Pawns, now these robot fox thingies…what's next? Cryus report!" Ari said as he pulled out a communicator and a Mobian lion appeared on screen.

"We can't hold them off, their arsenal surpasses ours. We can't win a direct fight against them, and none of the inventions I had planned can be finished in time. We have to retreat and regroup." Cyrus stated.

"I understand…Ari out!" Ari said as he put down his communicator. He was joined by his second in command, the Mobian Bear known as Diesel. "Tell me Diesel how it could have come to this?" he wondered.

"Simple…the Hooded One is just that good…" Diesel stated as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Ari. "And you'll surrender to him!" Diesel said, his eyes dull…showing Diesel was a sleeper clone as well. Ari raised his hands as he was at gunpoint. And while Cyrus and a lot of the trainees had escaped, Ari wouldn't have today.

In Eurish, Freedom Fighter veteran Harvey Who the Owl and several other Freedom Fighter trainees, Kato and Mina Mongoose at the front, Kato cutting through Swatbots with his Megatal-like armored plates, while Mina opened her throat and decimated the machines with her sonic scream. But Kato and Mina became tired as they started to pant. "Mr. Who, I'm tired…I wish Manic and Sonia were here, but they're with their parents now." Mina said.

"We have no other choice but to retreat." Mr. Who said. Kato signed that he wanted to continue fighting, but Harvey replied to him: "Those who fight and run away, live to fight another day. The time to fight comes later, young one." Harvey said as Mina and Kato were forced to comply and retreat with Mr. Who.

A Robian looking like Dulcy (the Dulcy look-a-like that was being roboticized in an earlier chapter) was amongst the Robians aiding the Swatbots in the invasion of Eurish. She noticed something trying to sneak away from the fight, and she followed it. She found the victim cowering in the corner of a dead end street of the city they were invading. It was Sally's father Max… "No, please, don't hurt me!" he said.

"Capturing victim, priority one. Preparing for roboticizing." She said as she grabbed him by the throat and dragged him to the closest roboticizer she could find.

Finally, the Northern Tundra was invaded by some Fox Fighters adapted to the icy climate. They were being aided by Mobian Orca's (unlike the Archie comics they are humanoid and a lot smaller and can move on land, though they're still fairly large and strong) who like Razorklaw and Lord Hood were modified with cybernetics. They could use their cybernetic to amplify their sonars to the point of using psionic pulses to knock back their opponents. "Lord Ahklut, we have them on the ropes, they retreat." One of the Orca's said to their leader.

"Excellent! We'll show them why we Orca's are the supreme and rightful rulers of the Tundra, our blood will run colder then the ice above as we claim this place as our own, under the name of the Hooded One!" Ahklut said as he and his forces pressed on.

The Arctic Freedom Fighters had to follow the same strategy as the other Freedom Fighters taken by surprise and outclassed by the evil forces: evacuate civilians and retreat. Only Erma the ermine had stayed behind as he saw how a walrus boy got his foot stuck in a crack in the ice. "I'll save you!" she said as she got the boy loose. However, they were confronted by a legionized Orca. "Go, save yourself, I'll hold him off, and if you see my friends, tell them that they can save me later on! Go!" she said, the walrus boy nodded as Erma tried to fight the much larger and stronger foe…but it would end with her the same way it would end for Lil' John, for Ken, for Mirror and for Ari…

But it wouldn't end here, with all these battles, sacrifices and unfortunate casualties. No, it was only the beginning, and for the Emerald Island Freedom Fighters, it wouldn't be any different…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	56. A new war begins II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: A NEW WAR BEGINS, PART II

Not knowing what would happen in the rest of the world, our heroes had continued their lives as usual. The surface was world was now being reconstructed. The buildings have become livable again and already people have settled down in their new houses, new jobs and established economy and politics…they wanted to get back to a normal life as soon as possible. Though things weren't completely back to normal, you could still recognize the place as a normal looking city.

Two workers had just finished a large sign. It said: "Welcome to Knothole". It was the name of the new place they lived now, in what used to be the remains of the ruined Emerald Hill Zone. Even our heroes had made themselves at home.

Sonic was fitting a tuxedo, while Muttski's fashion expert brother Lionel was seeing how well it fit. "Oh, don't you look stunning. Sally will be blown away when you'll marry. Or at least I'd be. Too bad you're taken for." Lionel said, admiring the tuxedo.

"I really want to marry Sal, but I don't like the fitting of these clothes. I feel ridiculous with a tie and the fact I have to sit still doesn't help…" Sonic groaned as he looked at his tux.

"But you look so grown up in it…I'm sorry but I can't believe my boy is going to be married!" Bernie said as she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose.

"The wedding isn't until a few months, mom. And you seem fine with it that Sally and I are marrying young." Sonic replied.

"You and Sally don't have an ordinary relationship, you are soul mates for sure. Why delay it. Besides, the sooner you can deliver us grandchildren, the better! It's not you two didn't have any practice." Jules stated.

"DAD!" Sonic said embarrassed.

Somewhere else, Nicole's mother Ellen showed Fiona some basics in medics, since she used to be a nurse. "Okay, then you wind the bandage around like this, not too tight…yes, that's it! Well done, you sure learn fast." Ellen said.

"Well, I want to do something more than just whoop butt, I want to be able to tend to my friends if they're wounded. So I should thank you for wanting to learn me this stuff." Fiona replied.

"You're welcome dear. And call me Ellen, the 'Ms.' Makes me feel so old." Then a small flying droid with tools for hands, a tv-screen for a head flew in, Nicole's head being displayed on the screen. "Oh, hi sweetie? How's the new body coming along?"

"It's coming along great. Tails and Rotor really are a great help. I'll be glad to say goodbye to this cheap looking body, the tv screen for a head gives me the impression I'm fat." Nicole said as she studied the tool-like hands of her temporary body. "Though I won't be able to feel a touch or eat or sleep…it's at least a step in the right direction."

"What you had to be put through at your age…makes me regret I wasn't there. I have many regrets. I shouldn't have married that Evan, no matter what financial problems I had. I was only kept around as a cheap maid and I failed to find a good father figure for my daughter." Ellen said.

"Hey mom, in a time of war, there always has to be someone who takes the short end of the stick. I had to give up a lot, but I gained the means to help my friends in my own way. I can hack like no other program can. You don't know how much it helped." Nicole assured her.

"Not to mention she's the real reason we managed to destroy the Death Eggs. Sure Sonic beat Eggman but he didn't destroy the space stations." Fiona assured Ellen.

"I guess I should be proud at my daughter…and I really am. Though I miss hugging you…" Ellen said.

"Don't worry, when the right tech is available, I'll be able to upgrade my new form with real life-like skin and touch sensors, and it'll be like I'm truly alive!" Nicole said.

Tails and Rotor were working on a humanoid robotic form. It looked a lot like a Metallix prototype, only modified. Nicole managed to snatch some data on the Metallix from Eggman Adam upon their defeats. It would prove a perfect base for her form.

Tori stood in the back of the room. "Say pops, can I ask something…once you're don with Nicole's form, can I have one too? Not I like being a flying plane of destruction, but I can't exactly fit in the smaller buildings and it makes it harder socializing."

"Sure. I was planning on creating a prototype hovercraft with mecha mode anyway. Maybe I can modify the designs to be compatible with your AI. And you were part of our attacks on the Death Eggs, you're as much so you deserve to be among us more." Tails replied.

"A hovercraft? Can't I have something with wheels?" Tori asked.

"You're going to have a hovercraft body and that's final! That thing is designed to go on any terrain!" Tails muttered as he continued welding on the Metallix-like protoform. "Anyways, how's Dulcy? Are her talks with Julayla working?" Tails asked Rotor.

"She's doing better, yes. I guess that she needs to be more positive. The whole 'innocent till proven otherwise', only with clones…can't explain it. She at least can use her ice powers again." Rotor added.

Bunnie and Cosmo were sparring in the other room. Bunnie always held back against her friends due to her superior strength. Cosmo lands a few punches, which Bunnie blocked with her metallic arms, and hopped over a low sweep kick Cosmo tried to surprise her with.

"Lunch break! Muttski made egg salad sandwiches. And a tofurkey sandwich for Muttski!" Muttski said as he handed a tray with sandwiches, the girls happily accepting them and eating.

As Bunnie wanted to take a bite as she started to cough violently. As she noticed a few drop of blood on her sandwich, she hid it behind her back as she said: "Er…ah think ah hear Rosie call, better go look what she wants!" she said as she ran off. Cosmo and Muttski shrugged their shoulders. Cosmo noticed a big of sauce on Muttski's cheek and teasingly licked it off.

Bunnie ran to the bathroom, and threw away the bloody sandwich as she coughed some more above the sink, spitting up blood in the progress. She looked shocked at this. She quickly washed away the blood as she looked in the mirror. She looked tired, even though that since the mission with the Serpentine Society a month ago they didn't have any adventures. "Oh ma stars." She thought.

"Has anyone seen Bunnie?" Antoine asked as he arrived in the sparring room, where Cosmo and Muttski had been in a make-out session until Antoine interrupted them. "Oh, excusez-moi!" he muttered.

"If you wanna know, Cybergirl has gone to Rosie." Cosmo answered.

"But…I have just come from madame Rosie and I have not seen Bunnie." Antoine said. It was then that Bunnie came back into the room. "Cherie, I heard Antoine and Cosmo say you were with Rosie, but I haven't seen you since I came from there."

"Er…did ah say Rosie? Ah meant goin' to the bathroom. Yeah. Ma kidneys really pull overtime by filterin' all this metal junk out of ma system." Bunnie said, until she started coughing again, quickly grabbing a tissue to catch the blood that flew out and putting it away before anyone noticed. "Ah'm sorry, swallowed a bug."

Antoine looked suspicious, Cosmo and Muttski had returned to making out, and Antoine shrugged his shoulders as he said: "Oh well. Shall we go see how Sonic is doing. I heard he is fitting a tux, and I wanna see ze look on his bored face." He and Bunnie then left.

"Does Cosmo think Bunnie was acting odd?" Muttski asked.

"Less talk, more kissing!" Cosmo said.

"I think we should invite too much people. You guys are all welcome since you're part of our team. And your families should come too. And perhaps the Wolf Pack, they trained me and Sonic after all." Sally said as she and Nicole went over the plans for the wedding.

"That's still about thirty people or so. Or maybe forty. Sonic's already nervous and such amount of people is still enough to unnerve him even more. He can fight Eggman to a standstill but he's quite nervous when he needs to talk in front of people." Dulcy noted.

"That's quite ironic isn't it. What is he afraid off? That he'll ruin the best day of my life? Every day with him is the best day of my life. I don't ask him to give me a corny love speech…okay I do but not one's that's so sweet it gives us diabetes, just a thing from his own heart. At least if his heart lies with me." Sally said.

"He worships the ground on which you walk. If he gives you his heart, he'll really give it to you." Dulcy assured her.

"You're awfully cheerful lately. Is the talk with Julayla working?" Sally asked.

"A bit. I at least think I shouldn't jump to conclusions about my own existence until everything is cleared up. Besides, you're still my friends right? Nothing will change that. I just needed to get over the shock a little." Dulcy answered.

Namgge, the former host of the true evil that was Eggman, sat down in his lab, tinkering with stuff. "Is something wrong old chum?" Charles had asked as he had entered the room. "You should really get a breath of fresh air, you're down in this stuffy lab for days. I thought after being trapped in a pod for so long you'd want to get out more."

"You know why I can't go outside Charles. How can I face the world after all I've done? For the evil I did when I was Eggman?" he said.

"You never were Eggman! He was a different entity using your body. I always tried to wrap my mind around how a good man like you could have fallen, it appears you never have fallen at all." Charles assured him.

"I still am responsible for creating Eggman! I was so excited about the experiment, it would have been revolutionary. But I was arrogant and foolish, a tiny miscalculation I had overlooked, and it had created that horror. Though I was just a puppet, he drained my knowledge and my plans from my mind to use that against you. It used my DNA to create a mindless clone body he could inhabit. It was still me!" Namgge lamented.

"Everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect. I didn't spot the miscalculation either, so I should be as responsible for this disaster as you are. We both worked on the projects with the Emeralds remember?" Charles assured him.

"The people won't forgive me Charles." Namgge said.

"I did, Sonic and his friends did because Eggman boasted in their faces he wasn't you, and I've explained everything to the citizens, and if they think it thoroughly they'll realize you aren't to blame. Only fate is to blame old friend." Charles said.

"Eggman has used my inventions to ruin the world!" Namgge said.

"And now your inventions will restore it! You helped rebuild the city, but you should admire the work you've done. Come outside my friend. Learn to live for yourself again, so we can leave the past behind." Charles said.

"Maybe I can go outside for a while. I want to see if the world as it was meant to be." Namgge said.

"That's the spirit. Now, let's go for a walk. Believe me, you'll feel better." Charles said as Namgge got up and joined them for a walk.

The new city of Knothole was in sight, the Dark Being smiling wickedly as he saw it getting closer. "I see they did a nice job of rebuilding it, I almost regret having to level it. But anything that isn't full of polluting factories and machinery isn't me, so it needs to go!"

"Yeah boss, we're goin' to show those joiks what it's like if you mess with da big man." Cubot said in a brooklyn mobster tone.

"I still didn't manage to get his voice chip right, but at least it's a step up from the gunslinger one." Orbot noted. Elise just sat in the back, bored look on her face, tending to her human-like fingernails with a nail file. "And she could be more enthusiastic about this." Orbot added.

"She is designed as an infiltration unit, to act and think human-like. So of course, she develops personality. But one that's unfortunately…contrasting to the others. But she's useful so that's why she's here. But enough about that…we attack very soon, and we'll see the city burn." The Dark Being stated.

The Hooded One had just put on a brand new suit under his cloak. "So, all tidy. Can't conquer the world without looking classy. The cloak's in the way, but I'll toss it up when I make my grand entrance. The people want to see a show after all."

"I think that you look great. Hubba-hubba! But please keep the cloak on!" Violet said, spinning her mechanical eye while laughing maniacally.

The Hooded One was making an annoyed looking face under his hood. Violet was a very useful assistant, but her crazy sense of humor could be annoying at times. "Ha ha, real funny. Now, please let's get back to the invasion please?" he said as he turned towards the Eggman robots he rebuilt as his own.

Dragonfly was mostly silent, totally different from his every previous incarnation. He only spoke unless spoken to. "Yes boss!" he replied dully.

"All hail to the glorious empire of our wonderful master." Shellcracker said. Also in a total flip Shellcracker has become a very loyal soldier, to the point that serving his master was the only thing on his mind. Irony was on the Hooded One's side.

"If that cute flying metal bug only was a little more emotive, we could have made such beautiful sparks. Too bad." Violet sighed as she stared with her single eye at the barely emotive Dragonfly.

"Such quirks in their personalities…must be their power sources. I should have never used…never mind." The Hooded one said as he turned to his minions: "Tonight Knothole will fall. And I will rise, as the ruler of the world."

As both villains had launched their forces, at the same time their flagships, the Swat Carrier and the Vulpin, were approaching Knothole, and they would soon cast their shadow over the city. The citizens, who wondered where the eclipse came from looked in horror as the flagships blocked out their sunlight. They didn't know what it was, but they knew it was bad.

The heroes walked outside their houses, Amy and Lily's quills and feathers looking messy and looking like they dressed themselves in a hurry. They saw what was going on. "That doesn't look good." Sonic said, but that was an understatement.

Both flagships released a swarm of robots. The robotic foxes from one, the Swatbots from another one. Both the villains flew down on a hover platform, their generals did as well. Or in Violet's case, her eye disconnected and attached to a flying droid body like Nicole was.

"Those are the fox robots we saw at the arctic." Rotor stated.

"Swatbots? I haven't since those since the early days of Eggman's conquest? Though these look more advanced." Sally said.

"No…it can't be!" Sonic said as he saw who came from the Swat Carrier. He looked quite different, but he still had recognizable traits: a large amount of girth, a robotic arm (though more sophisticated looking), red eyes with the white of his eyes black behind some thick glasses and a big red mustache. He had a mostly black bodysuit but there was the red down the middle and a yellow collar.

"Eggman!" they all said astonished.

"But he blew up with the Death Egg." Tails said scared.

"You're right about that, but you destroyed my physical body. As you know, similar to the evil dark Chaos beings residing in you and the kitsune's bodies, I am a being of dark Chaos energy. My physical form was destroyed, but not my true essence. I managed to endure and create this new body for me, and in secret build a huge force of robots. They are currently attacking your comrades around the world, conquering it in my name." he gloated, as he briefly peeled away the organic-looking skin on his head, revealing a mechanical face underneath, before having it regrow.

"You don't scare us Eggman!" Sonic said.

"I no longer listen to that name! Eggman was a loser, a playful idiot without ambition. I'm all new, I'm darkness, I'm destruction and conquest! I'm created from the best of robotics and tech from the NIK-suits, I am Robotnik!" he gloated.

"Are those robo-foxes with you?" Dulcy asked.

"No, such atrocities can never be of my design." Robotnik stated.

"Those would be mine!" the Hooded One said as he floated onto the scene. He threw off his cloak as he revealed himself to be a Mobian fox with red fur, brown neatly combed hair, a cybernetic arm and a brown raincoat. "Benedict Fox, nice meeting you. Now if you don't mind…I claim the world as mine. I myself have sent my brethren to attack your friends around the world as well. And I plan to take you on personally."

"Not if I conquer this place first!" Robotnik stated.

"Fat chance, has-been. Just because you have a new body, army and looks doesn't mean you're still the same failure. Let someone else do the work." Benedict said.

"I was here first, I had the world under control as you were playing hide and seek." Robotnik said.

"I was biding my time!" Benedict growled.

"You mean hiding in fear like a chicken!" Robotnik reacted.

"That does it! Generals, lead the Fox Fighters as I handle this tub or mechanical lard!" Benedict said angrily.

"Orbot, Cubot, take Elise and the Swatbots out to conquer the city as I dispose of this know-it-all." Robotnik growled.

The Fox Fighters and the Swatbots marched through the city, the citizens running in panic as they avoided being shot, lashed at or captured. Elise, Dragonfly and Shellcracker led the forces on the ground, while Orbot, Cubot and Violet summoned small hovercraft vehicles, who transformed into humanoid forms to which they connected, creating battle bodies for themselves.

The peace was over, the war has began anew, and this time, worse than ever, as they were caught in between two new bad guys.

TO BE CONTINUED


	57. SSZ57

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: A NEW WAR BEGINS, PART III

The day of reckoning has befallen on our heroes. At the time there was supposed to be peace and quiet in the wake of Eggman's demise, it appears he had survived and has assumed a new form and persona: Robotnik. Not only that, the Hooded One has revealed himself as another madman with his eyes on world domination named Benedict Fox.

The Swatbots, led by Elise, Orbot and Cubot under Robotnik and the Fox Fighters, led by Shellcracker, Dragonfly and Violet under Benedict, swarmed the streets and attacked the civilians, attempting to capture or destroy them. "Nicole, Rotor, move out and activate the emergency protocol, we'll try to hold them off!" Sally ordered.

"It might take some time before we got it running, we haven't even tested it yet." Nicole stated.

"There's no other choice! Now go!" Sally said as she grabbed her tonfa and her blades and combined them in their scythe mode. She sweeps with it and cuts several swatbots in half, the lower halves kept running comically, while the upper halves tried to crawl forward on their bellies before Sally kicked their heads in. She embedded her scythe in a Swatbot's head, shutting it down before tossing it in another one.

She then was kicked in the back of her head by something and was sent face-forward into the ground, and she saw Elise towering over her. Sally pulled herself up by her scythe as Elise had a wicked grin on her face. "So you're their leader? I wanna see what stuff you're made off. I'm Elise, and I'm your worst nightmare." She said as she rushed forward and tried to punch Sally, who did a backflip to avoid.

She then lashed with her scythe, which Elise caught in her hands, before pulling it down and pinning it under her foot. She tried to kick Sally, who was forced to let go of her scythe to dodge. Elise attempts another kick, but Sally caught her foot and flipped her away, but Elise landed on her feet, as Sally rushed at her and delivers a flying kick, which Elise blocked with her arms.

Sonic rushed forward into some Fox Fighters, who fired their weapons, but the blue hedgehog was too fast for them as he easily dodged all attacks and mocked them all the way. "You're too slow!" he said as he spin jumped into their heads, popping them open as he did. However, Sonic had to dodge a huge claw on a chain being hurled at him as a mace. Sonic recognized it. "Shellcracker…I don't know why that Bene-dick guy bothers putting you back together."

"Do not speak of the glorious master Benedict that way! He'll be the future ruler of this damn planet and all will bow down to his magnificence!" Shellcracker said as he fired lightning from one of his claws, only for Sonic to dodge.

"You sure got messed up badly, not talking about betrayal and stuff. But oh well, same bot, same fate!" Sonic said as he homed in on the head of Shellcracker and knocked him back, only to be grabbed in one of Shellcracker's claws, but Sonic vibrated his molecules to released himself and delivers an Axe kick to his chest, knocking him back some more but still Shellcracker stood strong.

Sonic was briefly distracted when he saw how one of the Swatbots had carried a Mobian turtle towards a roboticizer. "No please, I got three children! NO!" he said as the energies of the machine enveloped him, turning him into a robot. "Unit E76 online!" he said in monotone.

"Did he just turn a Mobian into a machine?" Sonic wondered as he got hit in the jaw by one of Shellcracker's claws, but he recovered quickly as he rubbed his sour jaws. He then saw how several civilians have been trapped by some Fox Fighters into some Prison Capsules of Benedict and being carried off to his flagship. "What are they doing with them?" Sonic shouted as he bounced off Shellcracker's head, hit the capsule and freed the prisoners inside, swiftly creating a tornado by running around to cushion their fall.

"My master is turning everyone in his loyal cyborg soldiers! Soon everyone will be part of my Master's Fox Legion." Shellcracker said as he lashed at Sonic again, who dodged again. But Sonic couldn't erase these images from his mind, Robotnik turning people into robots, Benedict turning people into Cyborgs…it was the Badnik suits all over again, but this time even worse.

It was then that Bunnie moved in and sent Shellcracker flying with a powerful punch. "Go ahead and get Eggman…Robotnik…whateva he's called now, I'll take this crustacean!" Bunnie said. Sonic nodded and rushed towards Eggman's direction. Meanwhile Bunnie puts her hands together and slammed them into Shellcracker, slamming him deeper into the ground. However, Bunnie started to cough heavily again and spat up some blood. "No, not now!" she thought.

Orbot and Cubot have taken on battle armor that allowed them to fight, Orbot being equipped with guns, and Orbot with blades. Antoine was dueling Orbot, their blades clashing over and over. Orbot trusts one blade forward, Antoine blocking it as he lashes with a second sword, which Orbot blocked in return Antoine pushed the bladed arms of Orbot aside as he kicked it in the chest, knocking him back as he then delivers two swiped with his blades, creating a cut mark on the armor. "Would you please be careful on the merchandise? It's brand new." Orbot moaned.

"Tough luck pour toi!" Antoine said as he pierced the chest with his sword, Orbot bailing the battle armor as it was destroyed by Antoine. As Orbot retreated, Antoine returned to cutting down Swatbots and Fox Fighters.

Tails fought off Cubot who started firing at him, but the kitsune flew around wildly to dodge them all. "Sit still, ya little tyke. If ya just work with me here you'll be a nice robotic slave instead of a dead fox sleepin' with the fish." He said, still in his gangsta accent.

"No thanks!" Tails said as he flew behind Cubot and grabbed something from his belt, something white and triangle shaped, but with rounded corners, which spouted a screw-driver like form as Tails messed with his circuits.

"Hey, watcha doin'?" Cubot asked as he found his battle armor not responding. Cubot ejected out as the body and let it blow up.

Tails showed off the new device, which had spouted a wrench-like head now. "With my new omni-tool I no longer need to drag all those tools around, cause they're now all in one."

Tails found himself then approached by several Swatbots, but Amy jumped in as she impaled their heads with arrows. "Tails, you get that Benedict guy, I'll handle them. They're the source of all this!" she noted. Tails agreed as he flew over to Benedict.

Fiona fought Violet, who like Orbot and Cubot had battle armor now. Fiona launched several kicks, which were blocked by Violet's arms. Fiona pulled out her daggers and stabbed in her arm with it, and tried to cut with the other, but she backhanded Fiona and knocked her back.

"Aren't you adorable? Maybe I can keep you as my own little dollie if Benedict has converted you, and you'll be my dollie…dollie, dollie, dollie, and I'll call you Fiona!" Violet spazzed.

"Er…my name already is Fiona!" Fiona stated as she tried to stab with her daggers but Violet caught her wrists as Violet scanned her form with her single eye. "And will you stop staring at me like that? It creeps me out!"

"You already are a Fiona? That means you are meant to be my dollie! We'll have a great time, we'll go to the movies, have tea time and lobotomizing sessions galore!" Violet said the crazy AI she is. Fiona kicked her off her, Violet's eye spinning around after the blow. "That's no way to treat your new mommy!" she said dazed.

Muttski was now cosplaying as Samurai Jack. "Will these visions never cease?" Muttski said in the calm tone he remembered form the cartoon. He then turns to the reader and said: "Muttski knows this line is out of context, but it's Muttski's favorite line from the series!" he lashes with his sword at Dragonfly, who lashed with his clawed arms in return, the two creating sparks as they did. Muttski jumps up and shouts out to the heaven as he brought the sword down, but Dragonfly caught it in his hands. "Normally that works in the cartoon!" Muttski noted as Dragonfly snapped the blade and Muttksi barely avoids being torn to ribbons by the claws.

Then Dragonfly removed his wings and morphed them into the double blades he is known for, Muttski barely avoiding their swiped. Muttski then quickly changed into a Spiderman costume and shot a web, grabbing one of the double blades from Dragonfly and using it himself, changing in a Dark Maul costume as he did. "Muttski really hopes the writer comes up with an explanation one day on how Muttski is able to do all this…" Muttski said as he fought Dragonfly with his own weapon.

Cosmo used her monkey-like agility to dodge the gunfire of some Swatbots, before climbing up the side of a building and kick off, landing in the middle of the Swatbot herd, grabbed one's head and swing around it to kick several Swatbots' heads off before she ripped of the head of the swatbot she held on to. She then tossed it as a Frisbee as she tossed it at some fox fighters, beheading them as she did.

Robotnik and Benedict had been scolding each other while their armies had done the work, though they couldn't fully understand what they were saying, the word 'bastard' was heard several times in the conversation. Both Sonic and Tails rushed in, respectively knocking Robotnik and Benedict of their flying platforms with their spin jumps, but they landed on the ground unharmed.

First, Sonic turned to Robotnik. "You just couldn't leave us alone! You just had to come in and ruin it! Why? What do you gain from the misery of others? What do you gain in other people's pain?" Sonic said, sounding very pissed off.

Robotnik just smirked. "Simple…I just want to have fun!" he said in his soft growling voice. He then fired lasers from his optics, which Sonic barely dodged. "You already have seen my handiwork at turning organic life into machinery? It was another project Namgge worked on, for medical purposes. But I turned it in a tool of enslavement and quite frankly it works better than those stupid suits." Robotnik said as he touched a tree with his bionic-looking arm and it turned into a robotic version of itself as well, as it pulled its roots (now spider like legs) form the ground, and the branches became robotic clawed tentacles. It joined the Swatbots in their rampage. "I'll rid the world of organic life and create my very own robot empire."

"You're sick…insane…deranged. But why bother telling you that. You already know and you have apparently satisfied with it. But you know what? I stopped you once, I can do it again. I'll make sure you stay down this time!" Sonic growled.

"Just try…one touch is all it takes for me to turn you into my slave." Robotnik said as his arm glowed with the roboticizing energies.

"As you know by now, you can't control me! Besides, all I need to do is keep my distance!" Sonic said as he curled up and dug into the ground, Robotnik looking around to see where our hero might be, only to find the ground under him collapsing, and being buried. Sonic popped back up as he said: "Like that!" but Robotnik crawled back out of the ground, a cocky grin on his face. "Or not…"

Robotnik rushed at him, with surprising speed for a bulky frame like his and Sonic barely avoided his hand, as spikes were created on the grassy spot that he touched. "You think you can win this time? Last time I played around, I only allowed you to get this far because it was part of my game! But no more games. I'm no longer Eggman, I'm Robotnik and Robotnik doesn't play around!" Robotnik growled.

Sonic held out his hands and spins them around real fast, creating a gust of wind to push Robotnik back. "But you still boast and are still obnoxious, to me you'll always be a big fat Eggman!" Sonic said. Robotnik growled in anger as he fired more eye beams, which Sonic dodged.

"Fighting is useless, as at this moment my forces all around the world, the armies I managed to build without you noticing, are attacking your allies. Even if I don't take this city, I'll take the world, and I'll come back for you." Robotnik said.

"But every time I'll send you running with your tail between your legs, and I'll take you down, no matter how long it takes, I'll defeat you!" Sonic said in return.

Lily had been tossing exploding darts all around the battlefield at the robotic invaders, as she noticed how Sonic was having trouble against Robotnik due to his lack of ranged attacks. Lily flew over and tossed several darts at Robotnik, but he just caught them in his hands and crushed them, without the explosive material activating. "Now it's two on one, Eggman." Lily said as she pulled out more darts. "And I got plenty to go around."

"You have sure grown confident the last time I saw you. Let's see if you can dodge this!" Robotnik said as he fired eye beams, but Lily jumped over them and back on her hoverboard.

"Is that all you…" But then Robotnik's hand was fired like a grappling hook as it grabbed Lily's throat. The glow on the hands was apparent as it engulfed the bluebird, who screamed in pain as she was engulfed in metal.

"Lily!" Sonic said as he rushed at Robotnik, who fired his eye beams and this time hit Sonic, knocking him back.

The roboticizing progress continued, as Lily's legs morphed into jet boosters for flight, her arms becoming robotic and more wing-like, her fingers looking like knife-like feathers, her pigtails becoming some sort of guns, and she now was grey and metallic like all Robians. Robotnik let go as she saluted him. "Unit L17Y online, awaiting orders!"

"Sick him!" Robotnik said as Lily launched herself at Sonic, firing her fingertips as projectiles and her pigtails shooting laser blasts, as Sonic attempted to dodge them, reluctant to fight back. "Now that's entertainment!" Robotnik said as he hopped back on his hover platform, overlooking the fight.

With Benedict and Tails, Benedict just smiled smugly as he got back up. "Ah yes, the two-tailed fox. Haven't you learned that it's impolite to interrupt a conversation? No matter. You'll fall alongside your city, and then you'll be one of my Legionnaires, like everyone else." Benedict ranted.

"Why are you doing this? Megalomania? Insanity? Just another punk who thinks he can control the entire world? What's your motive? I've heard them all, so surprise me!" Tails said as he took a battle stance.

Benedict laughed. "You think that I do these things for mere glory or power? Trivial matters. I just go by the law of 'survival of the fittest'. You Freedom Fighters, by defending the weak and the helpless go in against that. Only those who are strong, smart and resistant enough. I just help Mobiankind reach their full potential."

"Insanity it is, because that's a load of bullcrap!" Tails said as he rushed at Benedict, as he lashed with his namesakes, but Benedict dodged very agilely for a man his age. He should be in his late thirties, early forties by now so. Tails launched a punch, but Benedict just leans back to dodge them all. Before he grabs Tails' arm and twists it behind his back.

"You're skilled, young kitsune, but not skilled enough. You have great potential. You have the strength and skills, as well as the intelligence. If you wanted, you could have conquered the world by yourself. The only think holding you back now are your misguided ideals." Benedict said. He then looked in the distance and saw Fiona fight with Violet. "Though it's convenient that you crossed Ms. Fox path, despite that you're leading her astray."

But Tails broke free and slashed his face with his tails, leaving two big cut marks. Only for them to heal instantly. Tails was surprised as Benedict noted: "I helped my own evolution a hand."

Tails shrugged it off as he asked as he asked: "So you're a fast healer, whoopedie-doo! But what has Fiona to do with this?" he growled.

"Now that would be telling is it? You'll find out later, as will she." Benedict said amused.

It was then that Dulcy jumped in and pointed her Hand of Fate at Benedict. "Hold it right there, old man!"

Benedict smiled. "Ah yes…the lizard girl! I captured one like you a while ago, but she escaped, as did her clone before I could complete her programming. I wonder which of the two you are…" Benedict said.

"I don't care anymore, I just want to make sure you don't harm the citizens of this city." Dulcy said, her hand giving off a fiery glow.

"Oh really? Well, I have a way to find out. There was a codeword I used, what was it again. Oh yeah…Red light!" he said and Dulcy froze (as a matter of speech), like she was catatonic. "Oh yes, she is the clone after all. But it doesn't matter, you can have her, she's damaged goods, tainted by you." Benedict said as he boarded a hover platform.

The heroes' families had helped the people evacuate to the lower bunkers as a result of the attack. The only ones experienced in battling (minus Armand, who had a back injury) were of course Bernie and Jules, who formerly were cops. They had grabbed a few guns and held off the Swatbots and Fox Fighters with it. "I nearly forgot how hot you were when you pull those moves with the guns." Jules said. Bernie smiled.

Charles and Rosie then entered on the scene. "Has anyone seen Namgge? And Julayla? I hope they haven't been captured or do something stupid." Charles asked.

"Namgge is mild-mannered and Julayla's in a wheelchair due to her disease. They couldn't have gone far, could they?" Bernie wondered.

From two buildings, Namgge and Julayla both were eyeing one of the baddies. Namgge had his eyes on Eggman, Julayla on Benedict. Namgge wanted to make things right, while Julayla, being terminally ill, wanted to go out with a bang. Both of them didn't hesitate. Namgge jumped into the hover vehicle of a nearby Swatbot, and drove it right at Robotnik, while Julayla, whose wheelchair secretly had jet boosters rushed at Benedict.

Namgge rammed Robotnik, who was stuck on the nose of the vehicle. "I created you, and I'll destroy you, I need to correct my past mistakes!" Namgge said. Robotnik was too surprised to say anything at all…Then they crashed inside a small building, which went up in a fiery explosion.

Julayla grabbed Benedict as she pulled out a grenade. "Get off me you old coot!" Benedict growled. Julayla pulled the pin out of the grenade. "Oh bugger!" The thing then blew up in both their faces…

"Was that Namgge?" Sonic wondered, having witnessed how he rammed Robotnik. With her new master out of commission, Lily's Robian form became immobile.

However, from the burning building some black smoke erupted, and from the smoke they heard Robotnik's voice: "You haven't seen the last of me, I'm pure energy! Blow me up as many times as you want, I'll always make a new body!" he said as he flew back to his flagship to get a new body.

Meanwhile, Tails had witnessed how Julayla has blown herself up to destroy Benedict. "No…she didn't…" he thought.

But more suprising was when Benedict managed to get up, his burnt flesh regenerating and his torn limbs growing back. The only things that he lost were his clothes and his cybernetic arm. "I hate it when it happens, it's always so hard replacing these arms." Some Fox Fighters brought him a robe to wear and a new hover platform, before he left to his flagship to replace his arm.

Nicole and Rotor have been busy on the new security protocol. They had dialed away like mad at the computers. "Okay, since we have no other choice, we'll have to rip it now!" Rotor said.

"Okay, initiating in three, two, one…" Nicole said. From the outside perimeters of the city several large posts/towers erupted, which sparked with energy. In the center of the city, a probe of sorts erupted from the ground and created a small shield, which started to grow in size…

The growing force field washed over the heroes and the citizens unharmed, but any of Robotnik's or Benedict's forces and tech (which sadly also included the Robians and the Prison Capsules were pushed away by it, and soon the entire city was protected by the force field, and the attacking forces left outside, unable to get in. They fired and pounded away at the shields, without success.

"Violet, report! What is going on?" Benedict asked.

"It seems they have a shield that can repel anything that has a signature belonging to your machinery, cyborg and fox fighter alike. We can't get in, a spherical force field has surrounded the city, and it's spherical so underground access is impossible. We can't do anything." Violet said.

"Gr…the punks are lucky for now, but my other forces probably have acquired me some new territory, I'll be back for their heads later." Benedict said as he called off his forces.

Robotnik just had entered his new body, identical to the last one. "That was inconvenient, what did I miss?" Robotnik then scanned the area and noticed the force field. "So, they created a way to repel my forces? Clever…but it only delays the inevitable. I'll return once I have checked upon the progress of my remaining forces. I'll find a way around those shields, it's only a matter of time." And like Benedict he retreated.

Sonic sighed in relief as the shields had come just in time, but the victory of today was bittersweet. The heroes regrouped as they compared notes. "They took about ten percents of the citizens, but the shields has prevented more casualties. Anything else we should know?" Sally asked.

"Namgge tried to take Buttnik down by ramming themselves in a building…it didn't work, Buttnik is an energy being that just can hop from body to body. He succeeded in erasing every trace of Namgge, his previous life after all." Sonic said sadly.

"Benedict…it's unbelievable but a grenade exploded in his face and he can heal instantly from it. He can regenerate from scratch! He couldn't be killed! Julayla had to blow herself up, but it didn't work. We knew she was sick and didn't have long to live but…to die for an empty cause." Tails said.

"Where is Lily? I haven't seen her? Where is she?" Amy asked panicky.

"Robotnik turned her into his robotic slave, like he did with all other civilians captured. I'm sorry Ames…I couldn't save her." Sonic said sadly. Amy looked shocked before she broke down in tears. "It's not fair! Why does that Eggman always have to ruin it all. Why can't he leave us alone! Why can't he let us be!" Sonic shouted as he dropped on his knees and cried, Sally hugging him for comfort.

"If anything else, Dulcy really is a clone…Benedict stopped her with a codeword. Her programming wasn't complete so he couldn't control her, but he could halt her. But how can we make her mobile again?" Tails wondered as he saw the petrified Dulcy.

Cosmo stabbed a part of Dulcy body with her index and middle fingers, performing acupressure to help her. Dulcy started moving again. Dulcy looked around and realized what had happened while she zoned out. "I'm…I'm the clone after all? No, no, NO!" she said as she dropped on her knees and grabbed her head as she started crying as well. She had nearly recovered from it, only for it to get all shattered again. Rotor took her in his arms and tried comforting her.

"Those bastards, they've taken Julayla and Namgge from us, turned Lily in their slave, ruined our lives…the war should have been over, but it comes back worse than ever!" Fiona said sadly.

"All the more reason to not give up now! We fought hard before, and we'll continue to fight! We won't let them take anyone else any more. We are Freedom Fighters…and we have a lot of people to save right now!" Sally said.

On Robotnik's flagship, he looked at a screen which displayed the images of several Robians, Robotnik's sub-bosses: Bill Platypus in Downunda, Hugo Brass in the United Federation, Jun Kun and Lord Yami in the Dragon Kingdom, Jack Rabbit in the Great Desert and Max Acorn in Eurish.

"Now I have my underlings controlling these territories, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the world will fall, including the Freedom Fighters and Benedict. I can't be destroyed, my bodies can be disabled, but my mind will live on. I will never stop!" he growled to himself.

Meanwhile Benedict also looked at a screen, displaying the Grandmasters of the chapters of his Fox legion, who either were brainwashed, sleeper agents, or having willingly joined him, all cybernetically enhanced: Razorklaw of Soumerca, Lord Hood of Mercia, Conquering Storm and Ken Khan in the Dragon Kingdom, Diesel in Efrika and Ahklut in the Northern Tundra. Not to mention he captured and converted Mirror, Ari, John and Erma as well.

"I have my servants in charge of my territory, and soon the rest of the world shall be added to my own domain. I'll rise up, the fittest to have survived and my glorious empire shall extend over the globe. And I can't die, I'll always cheat death…" Benedict said evilly.

TO BE CONTINUED


	58. Sonic's Adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT: ADVENTURE, SONIC STORY PART I

It has been two weeks…two weeks that our heroes have forced to hide in the force field dome of their city for two maniacal conquerors. The reincarnated Eggman now going by the alias Dr. Robotnik, as well as the regenerating cyborg fox Benedict. And both have caused casualties. Julayla and Namgge were dead, and Lily was roboticized.

The heroes had saved most of the people, but a small amount have been captured by the enemy's forces. War didn't come with casualties, but this wasn't an ordinary war anymore. Not as bad as before, no far worse in fact. And Sonc realized it too. He wasn't his usual cocky but upbeat self, as he restlessly paced through the entire Freedom HQ.

He came across Amy's room. Amy had locked herself in since Lily's robotication and hasn't come out since, except for the bathroom and to eat (though she barely ate anyways). Sonic knew she needed some time alone and left her be. He then came across the door of Tails' lab. Probably he was inside, making countless calculations on how they could've done better, only to result into nothing. He knocked the door and waited for a reply, only for none to come. He must have been too deep in thought at the moment to notice him so he let him be too.

Sonic went to the living room of the HQ and sat down, sighing. Soon his parents Bernie and Jules. "Hey son, mind if we sit down?" Jules asked. Sonic shook his head as the two sat down. "You look down, though I can't say it's not without reason." Jules added.

"We didn't see it coming, I should have known we couldn't destroy Eggman that easily, if blowing up a space station around him can be called easy…but it was too quiet, I knew it couldn't have been like this forever, but we couldn't foresee how these two bozo's showed up out of nowhere and ruin everything we fought for. We just had cleaned up the remains of the big egg's empire…" Sonic said.

"Indeed, you didn't see it coming, and neither did anyone else. The two did everything to remain unseen until the day of the attack. You shouldn't blame yourself. You focused on releasing the prisoners and save the injured from the aftermath, and the people come before everything else. In our jobs as coppers we know." Bernie reminded her son.

"We saved many, but now we lost so many too. Including one of our own Freedom Fighters. I shouldn't have let it happen, I'm the fastest thing alive and yet I couldn't be fast enough to…" Sonic said.

"Stop blaming yourself. No one is fast enough to be everywhere at once. There were some horrible losses, but it prevented the losses of many more. Unfortunately it's part of war, but you can't let that get you down. Everyone counts on you and your team to save the day. You have saved the day many times before, and you have to do so again." Jules said as he patted his son's back.

"I never said about giving up, I can't give up since I have people to save, and bad guys to put down, but it sometimes get a bit too much for me. Eggman has stolen so much time I could have had with you, and when I think he couldn't get in my way anymore, he shows up again and…" Sonic admitted.

"Then let your emotions out, penting them up is never a good thing." Bernie assured her son. Sonic gave in and cried in his mom's shoulder, letting it all out. After he was done, he wiped his remaining tears and his mom asked: "All better?"

"Yeah, I think so…I think I needed that. Now I got that out of my system, me and the others need to make plans, to strike back hard. And to strike them hard enough to make sure they stay down!" Sonic said as he got up again, once again determination on his face.

"That's my boy. You sure managed to get over yourself quite fast." Jules said.

"I always do that, it's just there was a big load to be lightened. Now, I'll go get the others…" Sonic said as he rushed off again.

"To be young again…" Jules said.

Outside the city, two green eyes filled with hatred and anger stared from the darkness. It had set its sights on the city. It let out a strange roar, like it was someone trying to shout from under water. It slithered towards the city until it came across the shields. It touched the shield and touched it briefly, only to feel a small shock. He felt annoyed as it planted it's hands in the shields and despite the heavy shocks he felt, he ripped a hole in it, and squirmed through it before it rapidly closed behind him.

The being looked around as it tried to sense what it was looking for. It slithered around, unnoticed at first, but then out of the blue he threw a tantrum, grabbing a nearby bench and tossing it in the window of a shop as the Mobians finally noticed the thing and ran from it.

Several police officers came onto the scene. "Stand back, you monster!" the chief said as he and his fellow officers said and aimed their guns at it. It jerked their head towards them. "I said stand back!" It stretched out it's arm and brought it down like a whip, crushing a car with it. They opened fire on it, but the bullets fell to the ground as it bounced of off him. "He's too strong! Retreat!" the coppers said as they fled.

Sonic arrived on the scene. The other Freedom Fighters weren't with him, but only because Sonic rushed off faster than normal. He saw the creature. It was made of a very water-like substance, the odd thing being that there was a brain floating in it and it had two green eyes. It took on a semi-humanoid shape as it eyes Sonic. "Don't care who you are, where you are from, or what you think, but you'll not hurt my people!"

The creature didn't speak. "One of those silent types are you? Well, that's nice, then I don't have to hear you spout out stupid one-liners or boast about supposed superiority. Bring it, jell-o!" Sonic said as he rushed at the being. However, it shot out and stretched its arm, as Sonic stopped and leaned back to avoid, then rolled to the side when the arm tried to crush him under it. Sonic spin-dashed through him, creating a hole in his body, as it closed immediately, like no harm was done.

"Okay…he's made of liquid, and just smashing into it never works. Then what can I do?" Sonic wondered. He then noticed the brain of the creature. "Well, duh!" he said as he smacked his own head, like it was obvious, and he jumped up and homed in on its head and brain, hurting the creature and forcing it to disperse it's liquid body. It soon reformed however, but he was dazed.

Sonic rushed at it and tried to get another hit on him, but the creature stretches out its arms again, this time managing to grab Sonic. He then retracts his arms and traps Sonic in his liquid body, slowly drowning the hedgehog. Sonic had to think quickly…he then vibrated his molecules really fast, allowing him to phase out of the mess, before he hit the beast's head again.

The being was dazed once more as it tried reforming. Sonic ran around it, creating a tornado to trap it, and as it's liquid form was sucked up, Sonic jumped up and homed in on it a final time, hitting its head, and it's liquid form fell to the ground, remaining a puddle this time. The puddle crawled into a drain pipe. "Hey, come back here you coward!" Sonic growled.

The other Freedom Fighters caught up. "Sonic, couldn't you have waited for us? What was the threat actually?" Sally said.

"Taken care of, but it got away. It looked like a big drip. No seriously, it was a huge being made of water, causing chaos in town. Since I don't know what else to call him, let's refer to him as Chaos since that's what he just brought." Sonic replied.

"I've seen the security feed, and I saw how it tore itself through our shields. Those are supposed to be impenetrable. How did it do that, and what did he want?" Tails wondered.

"No time to think about that. It's still out here in the city, and we have to find it before it causes more trouble." Sonic explained.

"Right, we should split up and each scan a part of the city. Now go!" Sally said as the Freedom Fighters split up.

Charles just has put his most recent discovery, an Eternity Ring, in his lab. "If sonny and his friends find out, they'll be happy. If we can get the Chaos Emeralds back, we might turn the tide of this war as quick as it came." He said as he admired the ring.

However, as he went to the sink of his lab to get a drink, the tap broke off and from the hole the same water being, which they dubbed 'Chaos' emerged from it and swatted Charles aside. It then went for the Eternity ring, and it somehow spontaneously activated in the being's presence, as he hopped in it, and with that the Eternity Ring vanished.

Rosie came in the lab and saw what happened to Charles. "Darling, are you okay?" she said in panic as she rushed at his side.

"I'm fine…except for some broken ribs. Get the doctor, and the Freedom Fighters." Charles said as he winced in pain.

In the Special Zone, Espik's domain, the Mobian seahorse-like avatar of the Zone saw another portal open. "It shall be the young and brave Sonic, eager for another challenge." She thought at first. Then she was surprised to see who it was. "You? No! You're supposed to be trapped…" she said.

The creature ignored her and looked at the Emeralds in the distance. "No, you can't have them! You shall not lay destruction upon this world again." She said as she opened seven portals and cast the emeralds away through each one. She then bound the aquatic being in a bubble.

"You shall not be unleashed upon the world again, even if I have to take down the entire zone to keep the world safe!" Espik said as the whole domain started to shake, the sky started to crack like porcelain, and the floor did as well…

Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have made it to Uncle Chuck, who was sitting in a couch, bandages around his chest, lying down. "That big oversized blueberry jelly is going to pay…if he gets out of the special zone that is." Sonic growled.

"Now we know why he came into the city, he wanted the Eternity Ring to get to the Chaos Emeralds." Tails stated.

"That thing was already giving me a hard time, imagine what it'd be like if he has the emeralds as well. I just hope that seahorse chick Espik can hold him off. Though she shouldn't lose to the likes of him, right?" Sonic added.

"We still have to be careful sonny, that thing was unlike everything I've ever seen. A being made of living water, a liquid with sentience, something that science has deemed impossible, but not the laws of the mystic. It's obviously supernatural and thereby a serious threat." Uncle Chuck said, still moaning in pain.

It was then that an image of Espik appeared in front of them, transparent and looking weak. "I don't have much time, I hope my message reaches you, young hedgehog. The Special Zone is gone…The being your fought is an evil that laid waste upon the world long ago…I couldn't let him have the emeralds. I had to cast them out my zone…No worries, they're in places where neither the dark being or the hooded one rule…but you got to be fast, I don't know if I can destroy it…get the emeralds before it does…" and with that the image faded.

"That doesn't sound good. That thing is a bigger threat then we thought. If only Espik had more time to tell us more…" Sally said.

"You heard her, no time to waste, we need to get the Emeralds before that thing does, where ever it is now. Can we get a fix on it, and on the Emeralds?" Sonic asked.

"I can use the global FF satellite network to track down the whereabouts of the Emeralds…just a sec." Tails said as he took out his laptop and dialed away. "Yeah, I found their signatures. They're mostly spread over Northammer and Soumerca, though they're some in Chun-Nan too." Tails said.

"Then we need to move out and split into groups…Each of the groups not only have to go after an Emerald before Robotnik or Benedict finds it, but also a group needs to stay behind to keep guard of the city, just in case." Sally suggested.

"Er…is it good, if Fiona and I take Chun-Nan?" Tails asked.

"Sure, but why?" Sonic asked.

"Er…no reason. Just feel like I should do that. Hard to explain." Tails said.

"Sure, why not. As long as we get the job done. Now, Amy, you need to stay behind and be part of the group and stand guard." Sally said.

"What? Why?" Amy asked annoyed.

"You are still shaken by the recent events that happened to Lily…not that we're not all are, but you are her girlfriend and we can't risk a direct confrontation in your case right now." Sally explained.

"No! I won't stand down! What are you afraid off?" Amy asked.

"If you see Lily, you might try and save her, and while we want to do that too, we're afraid you might rush into things and Robotnik can take advantage of your emotions." Sally added.

"What if I want to save her? Have I no right to do so? I can get the emerald and save Lily." Amy said angry.

"We'll do that when the time is right. But now we have to focus on the…" Sally said, but Amy didn't listen as she stormed out of the room. "She needs to cool off, she'll be back. Now, as I said…if Tails and Fiona take Chun-Nan, I think that…"

But as Sally wanted to speak up again, Bunnie suddenly collapsed on the floor. "Mon dieu! Bunnie, Bunnie!" Antoine said as he shook her unconscious form.

"Oh, why do the bad things keep happening in rapid succession?" Sonic moaned.

"She's bleeding out her mouth!" Antoine said panicky…

They had brought Bunnie to the hospital. There they were greeted by the diagnosis of the local doctor, Dr. Quack. "We have thoroughly checked out her entire physiology. It appears her cybernetics make her suffer from the same fate as other experiments of Robotnik: the body starts to reject the implants, and it's killing her. I'm surprised it didn't happen to her sooner…her blood is poisoned, her nerve system is out of whack, and you don't want to know the rest." He said.

"Is zere something we can do to help her? Ma pauvre Bunnie?" Antoine asked desperately.

"Well, it's a tricky business. Not only her limbs are replaced by cybernetics but also some organs. Though we can find donors, her blood group is rare so it doesn't help, and then we need to purge her blood of all the metal bits and toxins, not to mention that we discover she has NIDS, and the only thing suppressing it are those limbs. If we remove them and if we successfully manage to give her prosthetics that aren't damaging, find the right donors, and clean her blood, she'll have to spend the rest of her life swallowing pills so her body won't reject the new organs, then other to keep her blood clean and to add pills to suppress her NIDS…all very difficult and little chance she can survive." Dr. Quack said regretfully.

"We need to do everything to find a cure for her…but there is that Chaos thing still roaming. Can't we ever get a break?" Sonic asked.

"You 'ave to go and save ze world, I need to stay with ma chèrie while ze doctors do what they can." Antoine said.

"How much as I hate to say it, we can't stay behind and watch, we indeed have to get those Emeralds…life makes us take tough decisions." Sally said sadly.

"If one more thing goes wrong, I'm gonna lose it." Sonic muttered.

One of Tails gadgets beeped. He pulled it out. "Another shield breach, but this time from the inside. Someone has broken out of the city." Tails stated.

"How can a normal Mobian get past the shields?" Fiona asked.

"I have a few special gizmo's, which I invented solely for us, which allows us to freely move in and out of the shield without harm, so that we can get out the city more easily for missions without lowering the shields." Tails explained.

"But who has snuck out of the city?" Sonic wondered. Then they looked around and saw someone was missing. "AMY!" everyone said at the same time.

"We should have kept an eye on her! We knew she wasn't thinking straight, and now she struck out on her own to save Lily." Rotor moaned.

"We had a lot on our mind, and I do mean a lot. How can we concentrate on finding her, the Emeralds, save Bunnie and stop this Chaos thing at the same time?" Sally wondered.

"We still can do this, we just need to plan out everything a little better…" Nicole assured them.

"Then we better start planning, cause things are only getting worse form here on." Sonic stated.

TO BE CONTINUED


	59. Sonic's Adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE: ADVENTURE, SONIC STORY PART II

After some shocking events at home, the heroes decided to move out and go after the Emeralds. A couple of Emeralds were located in the hidden Overlander city in Soumerca, also known as the City of the Ancients, because it was build in some underground ruins. There Sonic and Sally would be heading.

"You done, Sal?" Sonic asked impatiently as he looked at his watch and waited for Sally to arrive.

"Just a minute!" Sally said back. Sonic started pacing back and forth. But when Sally finally finished dressing up, Sonic's jaw nearly hit the floor. Sally now was sporting a very nice looking blue bodysuit with a brown strap to carry the scabbard of her sword on her back. She still wore her old boots and gloves. The bodysuit accentuated every detail of Sally's curved and slender body. "Sonic, you're drooling!"

"But you look so damn hot in that!" Sonic stated.

"Not I don't like to hear you compliment me, but can you focus here?" Sally asked.

"Yeah…sorry! We should get going!" Sonic said as he picked up Sally, bridal style. "Well, this is good practice for our wedding night." He thought to himself as he and Sally rushed off into the distance (taking a special device to harmlessly pass through the shields), towards Soumerca.

As they neared the city, Sally grabbed out a communicator and tapped in the security signal. "Sally Acorn here of the Emerald Island Freedom Fighters, requesting permission to enter the city."

"Special password required…" someone spoke to her over the communicator.

"The Password is 'Windy Valley'!" Sally replied.

"Access granted…for now, special further identification awaits." The person on the other side of the line said. Sally and Sonic reached a point in the rainforest, where they waited. The floor under them shoved open as they jumped in and slid down a pipe into a hidden room. There, several GUN agents with special scanners for energy signatures and DNA ect. awaited and gave them a brief check. They got thumbs up and were allowed to pass into the city.

The city, despite being underground, looked very lively. People tried to enjoy the quiet moments for as long as they would last, and the artificial weather system, including a fake sun, shone brightly. The heroes were awaited by a GUN vehicle. They would soon be talking to the head of GUN about their mission.

In the vehicle they were greeted by someone they recognized. "Hey, Colonel Topaz, long time no see. When was the last time we saw you? In Spagonia if I recall." Sonic greeted.

"Indeed. You were a great help closing down the mines and save all the slaves." Topaz replied.

"Indeed…good times. I still remember the look on Egghead's face. By the way, we heard about old Brass-brain. Sorry about him. He was a thick-headed brute, but his heart was in the right place. That of all people he got captured…" Sonic replied.

"Like a father he was to me…but you already know, you lost one of your own as well…but there are more immediate matters. You wanted to brief the Commander about the most recent threat?" Topaz stated.

"Who is the new Commander anyways? Now Brass is gone someone has to take the job." Sally asked.

"Abraham Tower. You remember, that guy with a blue and green eye?" Topaz answered.

"Oh, good old Abe! Never knew he'd be one to take a job like that. He was such a great fighter, why take a coordinating desk job?" Sonic said.

"He's getting older. So a more passive but useful was suited for him. He thinks fondly of you two, you know." Topaz added.

"Good to know." Sally added.

They arrived at the GUN HQ, and were led to the office of the Commander, Abraham Tower. Despite looking rather aged, with grey hair and wrinkles, he still looked strong and tall, and demanded a lot of respect. He had a green and a blue eye. He had a firm look, but smiled as he saw our heroes. "Ah, Ms. Acorn. Mr. Hedgehog. We received your message. You had warned us about a liquid being that's after the Chaos Emeralds right?" He greeted.

"Indeed, and it caused quite some trouble at our city. We need to secure the Emeralds, there's no telling what it can do with them." Sally responded.

"Luckily, my men already had found and secured one of the Chaos Emeralds, and we believe the second may be near the aptly named Emerald course. You probably want to be part of the search party." Commander Tower explained.

"You betcha, Abe! We wouldn't have come all the way for nothing, do we?" Sonic said in his usual light-hearted self.

However, an alarm sounded. "Sir, some of Benedict Fox's legionnaires have entered our city, near the coastline, they must have used the underground river system to find us!" a Gun soldier reported.

"Blast it! Colonel Topaz, you take the Angel Squad to the beach and deal with these Legionnaires. We can't have them wreck the city or find the Emerald. Mr. Hedgehog and Ms. Acorn probably would like to help out." Commander Tower said.

"Be certain we will, I needed something to vent some frustration, and those Legion bozo's come at just the right time!" Sonic said as he smacked his fist into his palm.

At the beach, the citizens of Station Square, who wanted to forget their worries with a nice day at the beach, got shaken up at the arrival of the cyborg orca's invading. They roared as they picked up objects and tossed it everywhere as well as using their psionic enhancers on their foreheads to fire psychic blasts. "For Lord Benedict, find that emerald!" Ahklut, the leader of the pack said.

It was then that a group of GUN Trucks arrived on the beach. Several GUN agents walked out, armed with several blasters. Leading the charge were Sonic and Sally, as well as Colonel Topaz and a group of female elite GUN agents, aka the GUN Angels.

The first one was Colonel Topaz herself, being the leader of the Team. She was an all-around fighter. She uses her agility in combat, which was comparable to Sally's as she backflipped to avoid some psychic blasts by the orca's. She then pulled out a gun and fired in mid-air, hitting the device in the middle of its forehead, shattering it and leaving its powers useless before she rushes in and kicks it in the jaw, knocking it out.

The next member was Hope, the youngest of the Angels, still a pre-teen but her technological knowledge was on par with Tails'. She was piloting a huge mech suit. The mech quit charges harmlessly through a volley of psychic blasts of an orca Legionnaire, before she punches the device on the forehead and then tossed the orca away.

Then there was Molly. She was an expert with guns. With deadly precision she disabled the Fox Fighter Frogmen the Orca's brought along with one precision shot from the head each.

Next was Chen, a silent but deadly GUN agent who was a skilled martial artist, and being armed with two katana's she used some fast movements and skillful swordplay she sliced the Fox Fighters apart with her swords, leaving them in two perfect halves as the remains sparked.

Last was Sara. She was an oddball. In her free time she was an otaku, and she was prone to wearing fake cat ears and a tail. But in combat, she was no pushover, as she had wolverine-like claws on her battle gauntlets, which she had used to slice at the face of an orca, before she kicked it in the device on his forehead, knocking it out, and then sliced apart some Fox Fighters.

Sally took on one of the orca's, Ahklut himself. Ahklut was way more skillful than his henchmen. He punched the ground as he had missed Sally, who flipped back and then jumped forward and struck with her tonfa, but Ahklut blocked with his arms. He fires a psychic blast which knocks back Sally, and then he grabs her in his huge hand, lifting her up and slowly crushing her. But Sally puts her tonfa together, aims one point at his forehead, and as it extends in a bo staff, it pierces the device on his forehead, he screams out in pain as Sally whacks him with the bo staff again, making him let go, before another swipe knocks him on his back.

Sonic homed in on some Fox Fighters, popping their heads of cleanly. As Sonic smirked as he thought how easy the Fox Fighters were, several ropes shot out of the water and tied him up and tried dragging him down in the water, and knowing Sonic can't swim. But the hero didn't give up as he vibrated out of the ropes, then pulled the ropes and dragged the Fox Fighters on land before slicing them apart with his spin-dash.

The orca's retreated again as the remaining fox fighters were disposed off. "And stay out, uglies!" Sonic said. "Well, we got them good, but what if they come back?" Sonic then asked.

"Shattering those devices on their forehead probably messed up their sonars, so they'll be bumping into each other and even if they get out, they'll probably won't be able to tell left from right. Our marine force will take it from here." Topaz said.

In the rubble of Fox Fighters, a single one was still alive because it kept hidden. There was something odd about this one. It soon became clear as it shape-shifted into a human female in GUN-uniform, and even morphed a wound on her stomach. She dragged herself to a near GUN-agent. "Help me, I'm wounded!" she said.

"Let's bring you back to GUN HQ for treatment." He said as he gently carried her to a near GUN truck, which would drive her back to the GUN HQ. He hadn't noticed the evil smirk on the Gun agent's face and the digital outlines in her eyes.

"Okay, now that's done with, let us find that next Chaos Emerald." Sonic said as he rushed across the coastlines, the GUN forces hot on his heels.

"He sure loves to rush off, does he?" Topaz asked.

"You have no idea, but it has gotten worse since Robotnik showed up again." Sally stated.

Sonic had rushed across the beach, until he noticed a sparkle in a palm tree. He ran up the tree and picked the grey emerald from the treetop. "Got it!" he said as he rushed back down and showed the emerald to the rest.

"No you don't!" a voice said as something rushed by and nearly knocked over Sonic, who managed to rush out of the way, but he then noticed he didn't have the Emerald in his hand anymore.

He looked up to see Robotnik in his new Robo-Mobile (renamed Egg Mobile), holding the grey emerald in his hand. "Give that back Eggman!" Sonic growled.

"It's Robotnik! And I won't give this little gem back, you see, I need it to give it to a friend of mine, and he's dying to have one of these." Robotnik said.

"You are the one who unleashed the liquid being!" Sally realized.

"Indeed…actually me and Benedict did at the same time. So the creature doesn't know who of us his master is. By giving him the emeralds, I'll prove myself to be its master!" Robotnik said.

"What you mean, 'unleashed at the same time'? You didn't create it?" Sally asked.

"No I didn't. The creature is older than time itself. The thing you fought is worshipped as the god of water by the echidna's. That thing is Ch'auzz, the water elemental!" Robotnik explained.

"We nicknamed it 'Chaos', since it likes causing Chaos and is after the Chaos emeralds. It's actually close to its true name if you ask me." Sonic muttered before he turned to Robotnik: "I won't let you get away with that Emerald, Eggman!"

"I'm Robotnik now! I've told you, Eggman doesn't exist anymore!" Robotnik growled annoyed.

"You always be an Eggman to me. You got the egg shape, the brainpower of an egg…Eggman!" Sonic taunted.

"You done?" Robotnik groaned.

"Egghead, Eggbelly, Omelette, giant talking egg, yolkface, egg tart…come to think of it, 'Eggman' sounds like a villain from a silly sixty's tv show! Ok, I'm done!" Sonic said quickly.

"That does it. I'll teach you some respect, you blue rat! Behold…the Wasp-Nik!" Robotnik said as he added more engines and weaponry to his Robo-Mobile (based on the Egg Hornet). The weaponry was aimed at Sonic.

"Stay back, he's mine!" Sonic said, sounding very angry and serious all of a sudden as he stared at Robotnik.

At the GUN base, a soldier was walking alongside a doctor of the GUN medic team to the wounded GUN soldier. "She had a huge wound in the stomach, I'm amazed she's still alive! I didn't even know those foxbots could do that!" he said to the doctor. The two arrived in the hospital wing, but found no one. "She was here…just a few secs ago! She couldn't have gone far with that wound…"

The injured agent was walking through the corridors of the GUN complex, having shape-shifted the wound away and a new hairstyle to remain unnoticed. She went for the vault complex of GUN. She morphed her hand, eyes and voice to fool some scanners, and manages to pluck the purple Chaos Emerald from the vault, put it in a suitcase, and slip out again, unnoticed thanks to her mastery of disguises.

Robotnik fired the laser blasters of his new Wasp-Nik, Sonic running around to avoid them. Robotnik makes some calculations and shoots a well-aimed blast, intercepting Sonic and knocking him off his feet. Robotnik took aim at Sonic as he gleefully whispered: "Now I have you!" he said as he fired at the downed hedgehog and it appeared the blue hedgehog has been consumed by the blast. "Yes, I have him!" the mad doctor robot said to himself.

However, something hit the side of his mechanical contraption, as suddenly something blue and familiar stood on the nose of his machine, and snatched the grey Emerald from his hand. "Yo, Egghead!" Sonic said casually.

"But I blew you up!" Robotnik said surprised.

"New speed trick! I can create brief afterimages to fool you! Now, let's take down this hunk of junk shall we?" Sonic said as he jumped up and homing attacked the engines of the Wasp-Nik several times and then it blew up. Sonic jumped off and landed gracefully as Robotnik's machine crashed into the ground.

Robotnik, having discarded the Wasp-Nik upgrades and barely managed to fly with his Robo-Mobile. "Darn you, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Oh, isn't this the part you should say 'Curses, foiled again!' while you smack your fist into the palm of your hand and vow you'll get me next time?" Sonic mocked.

"I don't have time for your childish antics. I need to plan my next move. But I warn you, even if I won't destroy you, you can't stop Ch'auzz!" Robotnik said as he flew away.

Sonic showed the emerald to the others. "Well, we managed to get the Emerald. That's two that are out of Robotnik's hands!" Sonic said satisfied.

"You scared me for a moment! I nearly thought that Robotnik had blown you up!" Sally said.

"I did too…surprisingly smart of him to calculate my speed but while speed's my trademark, he forgot there's more to me. Besides, you should know I die hard, Sal." Sonic said.

It was then that Topaz' communicator went off as she was contacted by her Commander. "Yes? What? It can't be…how you say? We're coming!" Topaz then hung up and warned the two Freedom Fighters: "The purple emerald has been stolen…we don't know how…" Topaz said sadly.

"What? But how? GUN is supposed to be one of the most secure places there are!" Sonic asked baffled.

"We don't know…all we know that there was an agent of GUN being tended to, but she disappeared. Odd part is, we don't know anything about the agent they brought to the HQ…someone must have posed as one of us…" Topaz said.

"So either Benedict or Eggman has used an infiltrator…but we got this emerald at least. Now we only have to recover that purple one from their clutches. And that before they turn that big drip in a mega-drip!" Sonic moaned.

Robotnik waited outside on the surface, waiting for someone. The undercover GUN agent arrived, and shifted back in her true form: Elise. She handed the briefcase with the emerald to her master. "Well done, Elise! You're worthy of being called 'infiltration unit'!" Robotnik said.

Robotnik held the emerald out in front of him, as something slithered in on the scene. It was Chaos, who eyed the Emerald with a hunger in its eyes. "You want it, don't you? Serve me and I'll get you more of these!" Robotnik said. The liquid being shrank to cat size and slithered around Robotnik's legs, like it was trying to be affectionate. "Good. Eat up, Ch'auzz!"

He tossed the emerald in Chaos' body as it stated to morph, a bigger buffer version of his humanoid form, and one of his arms now had a bone-like structure, in which the emerald was encrusted. "Excellent, now we need a way to take back that grey emerald…and then to find the rest of the emeralds. With you at my side, I'll finally being able to conquer this world!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	60. Sonic's Adventure III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY: ADVENTURE, SONIC STORY PART III

The Wolf Pack, the group of Freedom Fighters from Soumerca, have been banished to the Great Unknown for a while since Benedict's Legion of former Felidae had invaded their lands, but they wouldn't stand for this. Though the Great Unknown was a barren wasteland, the Wolf Pack could count on supplies provided by other Freedom Fighter groups, as well as using several hazards of the area, like geysers and a near-always state of bad stormy weather to their advantage. Multiple times the enemies were forced to retreat due to the storms.

But it didn't change anything. The power struggle went on. Though the wolves had achieved little into gaining their lands back, the legionized Felidae had achieved little to defeat the wolves. But it went on, since both sides were determined to take back what was rightfully theirs (or in the latter's case, what they believed to be theirs).

An underground tunnel network, dug out artificially due to the United Federation's technology connected the UF and the Great Unknown, so the wolves could be supplied with what they needed: food, resources ect. Sonic and Sally had just taken a freight train to the Wolf Pack, the emerald still in their possession.

Once again, they were greeted warmly by the wolves. "Sonic, Sally, it's so good to see you. Nice to see that even after all of this, they haven't taken you down." Lupe said, emotional due to the events of the last few weeks as she hugged the two tightly.

"Takes more than a near-apocalypse to wipe us out. I want to ask how things are, but that's not the best thing to ask right?" Sonic greeted back.

"We're at least alive, we're thankful for that. Though Honey's sister wasn't so lucky. She's now one of the Hooded One's mindless minions, alongside some wolves who fell with her." Lupe said sadly.

"We lost one of our own, but to Robotnik. But it's still no different. The world is in a worse state then before, and we have to prevent it from getting worse." Sally explained.

"Then we need to bring you up to speed. We managed to recover the dead body of a relatively intact Legionnaire…it might help us save other unwillingly Legionized in the future. Follow me!" Lupe said as she gestured them to follow her.

"Where are the rest?" Sonic asked.

"They're on patrol at the moment, they'll be back later." Lupe answered.

"Sonic, Sally!" the voices of Marcos and Mari, the little wolves said as they rushed a the two and nearly tackled them down into the ground.

"Hey, good to see you too!" Sally said as she and Sonic hugged the two.

"Those mean mechanical cats took our home, but mom and dad and everyone is fighting real hard to get it back!" Mari said.

"Yeah, mom and dad kick some serious butt, you should have seen the look on that one guys' face when mom kick him in the…" Marcos said.

"Er…Marcos, Mari, I need to show Sonic and Sally something, so you be good and wait for us at home okay?" Lupe said. The twins nodded and left.

They continued towards a lab, where a short dark-skinned and aged Overlander was performing an autopsy on a Legionnaire. "Meet Mr. Nate Morgan, he's sent by the UF to support us technologically." Lupe said.

"Nice meeting you, heard all about you." Nate said as he politely shook the hands of Sonic and Sally.

"They said you've studied the Legionnaires. Have you any info for us?" Sally asked.

"Ah yes, let me show you." Nate said as he grabbed a cybernetic arm he had cut off. "These are more cleaner and more precise then Robotnik's during his time as Eggman, so the subject doesn't suffer from feedbacks like blood poisoning and damage to the nerve system. Benedict really wants to make sure those who are of use to him stay alive."

Sonic and Sally looked sad, as they thought of Bunnie's current state, who was equipped with Eggman's sloppier designs that were slowly killing her. Nate continued: "There are some mind control chips for those who are Legionized against their wills that make the susceptible to Benedict. But the most notable feature is a small cherry bomb in the head, which will kill those who turn traitor."

"Talk about blowing your top…geez!" Sonic, not meant as a joke.

"Isn't there a way around those cherry bombs?" Sally asked.

"They're triggered through a wireless signal, and a very fast one at that, we won't be able to intercept the signal fast enough to stop it, you must have a very advanced program to do so. Even still, it's risky removing the cherry bombs without brain damage and deactivating them doesn't mean they can't explode anymore." Nate replied.

"That Benedict guy is smarter than we thought, no wonder Buttnik's no longer the only evil genius around." Sonic stated.

It was then that Lupe's communicator sounded. She fiddled around with it as she didn't remember what button to press. Nathan pulled it out of her hand and pushed a button and gave it back to Lupe, who spoke in to it: "Yes honey?"

"We are in trouble here, we are being attacked by a liquid being with green eyes! We can't hold it off forever!" Lobo replied.

"Oh no, sounds like Chaos has followed us all the way here…guess the big puddle hasn't learned. Let me at him!" Sonic said as he rushed off.

"Wait for me…geez, if he wasn't such a great lover I'd…" Sally said as she ran behind Sonic, Lupe following soon afterwards.

On the battlefield in the Great Unknown, the Wolf Pack tried fighting of Chaos, but to no avail, he just swatted them all away with his huge arms. They tried tossing spears at him, which broke when it came in contact with his skin. Reynard jumped on his back and tried pounding on his head. Chaos just looked bored as he grabbed Reynard of his back and by the throat.

Sonic arrived on the scene with Sally and Lupe. Sonic was amazed at Chaos' new form, thanks to the purple Chaos Emerald. "Whoa, that guy must have taken steroids…or an emerald, now we know who has taken it." Sonic stated.

It was then that Robotnik flew down in his Robo-Mobile. "Ah, Sonic! I hoped you'd show up. As you see, I always have a backup plan in case the first one fails. My Waspnik might have been a disaster, but Elise proved herself really useful, now Ch'auzz has reached his next form. And the more emeralds he eats, the bigger and stronger he grows!"

"Well, then I have to beat you before you can give him more Emeralds." Sonic stated.

"You won't be beating me or Ch'auzz, cause if you do, he'll snap the wolf's neck. Unless you give me the emerald you found on the beach…" Robotnik taunted.

"We know you won't keep your end of the bargain!" Sally noted.

"You really want to take the risk?" Robotnik said as he pointed at how Reynard was in pain in Chaos' grip.

"I don't trust you, but maybe the drip is up for negotiation. Hey blubberbrain, you get the emerald if you let Reynard go!" Sonic said.

"Ha, you try to negotiate with…" But to everyone's surprise, Chaos stretched out the arm holding Reynard towards Sonic, dropped Reynard and grabbed the Emerald, before absorbing it, increasing in size and gaining another bone-like structure in his arm with the Emerald in it.

"I don't believe it, but that thing actually has a form of honor." Sonic stated. Chaos then roared as he pounded the ground. "That didn't last long." Sonic said.

Sonic didn't waste any time as he rushed at Chaos, who stretched out his massive arms fast enough to catch Sonic off-guard and grab him, and then began electrocuting him.

"Sonic!" Sally said as she rushed at Chaos, only to get stretch punched.

"Yes! I'm finally getting rid of…" Robotnik said, but his speech was cut short when something red shot by and dove into Chaos' arm, breaking it apart into water and releasing Sonic.

"Knuckles! Good to see you!" Sonic said as he recovered from Chaos attack and greeted the echidna.

"You can do nothing without my help, can you?" Knuckles joked as he then turned to Chaos. "And I have a score to settle with that water guy."

"You know it?" Sonic asked.

"It came out of the Master Emerald. Benedict and Robotnik were fighting over it and they broke it, and released that thing." Luckily Angel Island was above the ocean when it fell." Knuckles answered.

"Can the Master Emerald be broken? Can it be fixed? And was that thing in the Emerald?" Sonic asked.

"It's an emerald, not a diamond so yes it's breakable! It can be fixed, if I find all the shards, and I already have some. And yeah, that thing came from the Emerald. Now I know why Angel Island was in the sky all this time, to hide that thing from the world." Knuckles answered.

"Enough chit-chat between you two! Ch'auzz, go get them!" Robotnik ordered. Ch'auzz stretched out his huge hands as it missed our heroes, who barely managed to dodge.

"Tag team?" Sonic asked.

"You know it!" Knuckles said as they rushed at Chaos. Chaos charges up and shoots lightning. Sonic jumps over the lightning as Knuckles punches the ground and makes a small wall of earth rise up and block the blast. Sonic homes in on the head and hits it, but doesn't hit the brain, but briefly peels away the liquid layer of his head before it regenerates.

"It appears we need to attack in rapid succession. One makes a hole in its body, the other hits the brain!" Sonic suggested.

"Not a bad idea, guess your speed isn't all there is about you. Okay, be ready to hit him when I give him a punch!" Knuckles said as he rushed at Chaos. Chaos stretches out his arms, but Knuckles grabs the hands. Chaos shocked him, but Knuckles, despite the pain, weathered the storm and pulled apart the watery arms. As Chaos was distracted Knuckles punched its face, peeling of the water layer before Sonic homed in on the exposed brain, hitting it.

Chaos melted apart in a puddle, though the two emeralds still were inside him. "NO!" Robotnik growled.

"Check!" Sonic said.

"What are you doing?" Robotnik asked.

"My mental checklist of the qualities of unoriginal villains. So far you've done monologues and boasting, and now the yelling of 'no' completed it. Congrats, you are an unoriginal villain!" Sonic joked.

"Ha-ha! Real funny, but you won't laugh anymore once I find the remaining emeralds and feed them to Chaos." Robotnik said. Chaos slithered away as Robotnik said: "Ah, he already has sensed where the next one is! Toodles!" Robotnik said as he and Chaos fled.

"Nice teamwork guys, you really worked well together to take down Chaos." Sally complimented the two.

"We kind of did…Well, thanks for helping, Knucklehead. I could have handled him myself, but you made things go bye much faster. I'm always in a hurry you see!" Sonic said.

"You keep telling me that, but I'm glad to be of use. If that liquid shows up again, I'll be there to help kick his can again. Up until then, I need to find the remaining Emerald shards." Knuckles said as he left.

"Bye Knux, and don't slack off, you need to keep up with me after all!" Sonic said.

"I think we should trace Chaos' signature and see where he goes next. If he absorbs more Emeralds, Knuckles' help might not be enough in the future." Sally stated.

"Sure, bet let's make sure the wolves are all okay first…" Sonic said as he and Sally went to the wolves and helped them get up after they got knocked the wind out of them by Chaos.

On Benedict's flagship, the Vulpin, he watched at a monitor. "I see Robotnik has already fed Ch'auzz two Emeralds. But no worries, I already have the next two…soon Ch'auzz will work for me instead."

TO BE CONTINUED


	61. Sonic's Adventure IV

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: ADVENTURE, SONIC STORY PART IV

Last time Sonic had teamed up with Knuckles to defend the Wolf Pack from the next form of Chaos. However, the liquid being has once again escaped and Robotnik with him. But Robotnik wasn't the only one who was after the being. Benedict's forces are after it as well.

The heroes now have tracked down Chaos in Chun-Nan, which was formerly torn apart by the fighting of the clans, but now, while still fighting one another, it's torn apart by Robotnik's and Benedict's actions.

Sonic and Sally had made their way to Chun-Nan, having been given a lift by GUN's plane. Now they were in the land of the ninja clans. The place didn't look exactly cheerful, the clan wars, while brutal at first had tried to keep collateral damage at a minimum, since the clans due to their sense of honor didn't want anyone involved who isn't part of the clans, but those senses of honor were stripped at roboticizing and legionizing and the innocents were caught in between, the towns were getting wrecked, and casualties were made.

Sonic cursed under his breath. Eggman at first had let this country alone since they were already fighting amongst themselves and he would just wait until they had destroyed one another before he'd take over. But now he was Robotnik he didn't wait and immediately took steps to control this war-filled country, and so did Benedict. This was the only country the dictators both have control over, due to the diversity of clans.

"Damn it, can we finally get to a place without seeing it ruined by that fat bastard?" Sonic growled.

"I know you're mad, but we'll get our chance to fix this later, first we must prevent that water being from getting stronger and making it worse." Sally said as she studied the emerald scanner, which allowed them to track down Chaos (due to of course having the emeralds in his body).

However, they were distracted when they heard loud noises in the background. They looked around and saw lightning bolts raining form the sky and the sounds of fighting. "I know we're supposed to go after Chaos, but we can't ignore this." Sonic said.

"Agreed, saving people comes first!" Sally said as she and Sonic went after the source of the ruckus.

There they saw several Saru and Raiju ninjas fight several Shinobi and Gosammer ninjas. The Saru and the Raiju had the upper hand since they both were equipped with shock gloves that allow them to strike the foes with electricity. "I can't think of an electricity pun that doesn't sound lame so I'll get right into the action!" Sonic said as he jumped up and then homing attacked some surprised Raiju and Saru from up above and knocked them to the ground.

Sally entered the scene and starts smashing around some Raiju and Saru she caught off guard with her tonfa, before she combined them into their bo staff mode. They fired lightning bolts from their shock gloves, but Sally planted her bo staff in the ground to redirect the lightning, making the attack useless. She then removed her bo staff from the ground and swiped at the Raiju and the Saru.

The distraction provided by the newcomers allowed the Gosammer and the Shinobi's to strike back as several Shinobi became visible as they shed their invisibility cloaks and tossed nets at them, while the Gosammers fired nets. The remaining Saru and Raiju fled the scene, knowing they were defeated.

One of the Shinobi approached the heroes and greeted them. "Thank you for your aid, strangers. Yet it wasn't your fight, you didn't hesitate to help us when we were in need." She said.

"It's nothing. It's what we Freedom Fighters do on a regular basis. We help people, kick butt or both!" Sonic said.

"Freedom Fighters? That's good to hear. We have been ignoring your offers of help in the past since the war going on between the clans wasn't your concern, but since the Hooded One and the one who turns people into robots have meddled into this, I'm sure our Brides would love to have you around. She might have a word with you." The Shinobi said.

"That's great and all, but we're kind of on a mission, tracking down something…" Sally said, not wanting to sound rude.

"Oh that won't be a problem. The Shinobi's are spies, and the Gosammers are fortune tellers, we know all what's going on in Chun-Nan. We might be able to help you on your quest." She said.

"Good…er, we didn't quite catch your name." Sonic said.

"I'm Liza." She answered.

"I'm Sally, this is Sonic." Sally introduced them.

"Nice meeting you. Now come, our Brides await." Liza said as they followed them. As the other ninja's went behind them to cover their tracks or to keep an eye out for those who would follow them, the heroes followed Liza. "I must ask you to be blindfolded for the rest of the way, we like our secrecy you know." Liza said.

"We better do it if we want them to trust us." Sally said, and Sonic agreed. They put on the blindfolds and they were guided by the ninja's.

When they finally were allowed to remove the blindfolds, they found themselves in what appeared to be a stereotypically ancient Japanese like setting. The Brides of the Gosammer and the Shinobi sat there, drinking their teas as they turned to our heroes. "Ah, you are the Freedom Fighters. Take a seat and have some tea." Constant Vigil said. The heroes did as they were told, sat down and took a cup of tea.

"As you know the clans have been at war for ages, and we didn't allow anyone else to get involved with it. But since outside forces have changed the rules, we are willing to come in contact with the Freedom Fighters, and help us in the war against these Robotnik and Benedict guys." Uma, the Bride of Endless Reach said.

"The Freedom Fighters and the United Federation would be more then glad to help those in need against those dictators." Sally said.

"Thanks…but there's more you need to know about this…the former head of the Saru, the normally benevolent Ken Khan has associated himself with the Raiju, who were the first to surrender their clan to Benedict, he even married their bride. Conquering Storm was no angel, but she at least had some honor and wouldn't normally align herself with the likes of Benedict." Constant Vigil said.

"Probably sleeper agents or some careful manipulation, that's what Benedict is known for." Sonic stated.

It was then that another Shinobi came in and whispered something in Constant Vigil's ear. "My spies have just reported a strange phenomena going on. A being made out of water has appeared. You said to Liza that you had a mission here. Does it by any chance involve that creature?" Constant Vigil stated.

"Yeah, that's the thing we came for. We call it 'chaos' and it's after the Chaos Emeralds, and it gets stronger with every emerald it devours. If it gets them all it's really, really bad!" Sonic stated.

"Very well…we'll send some of our ninja's to help you fight it off." Constant Vigil added.

However, the Raiju and the Saru had already tracked it down. Chaos's giant hulking liquid behemoth form was being surrounded by the evil ninja groups. Benedict has ordered the capture of the creature so he could convert it to his own cause. But they weren't doing a real good job, and like the wolves last chapter, they got easily tossed around by its huge stretching arms.

"Surrender you beast!" Ken Khan said as he pelted the liquid being with lightning, who wasn't fazed in the slightest by the attack, and it just shot a lightning bolt of its own at Ken Khan, who barely dodged while flying atop of Nimbus.

"Hey monkey brain! Do you know it's not wise to draw the ire of giant mystical beings made of water?" Sonic has just rushed upon the scene with Sally and several chameleon and spider ninja's. And he has taunted the brainwashed Ken Khan.

"Stay out of this blue rat!" Ken said as he aimed his baton at Sonic, who easily dodged the lightning bolt, rushed up the side of a building and then homing attacked Ken, knocking him off his cloud.

"I'm a hedgehog! Sonic the hedgehog. They said you used to be a decent guy until Benedict messed you up in the head." Sonic replied.

"You don't speak of Benedict that way! If my beloved Conquering Storm trusts him, so do I!" Ken growled.

"One: you trust this chick you've been fighting all your life over long-time allies? And two: You actually married her? Dude, get your priorities straight!" Sonic said.

Ken Khan growled in anger as he rushed at Sonic, lashed with his baton, which Sonic dodged with his superspeed as he kicked Ken in the back of his head, but the monkey lord recovered and swatted Sonic with his baton. But our hero got on his feet quickly and spin-dashed in his gut, pushing him into a wall. However, Ken head-butts him and tries to swat him with his baton again. But Sonic kicks it out of Ken's hands, punched him in the jaw a few times, before he grabs the baton as it came down and swats his owner with it. "I hoped you'd put up more as a fight, ironically you've gone soft by being Legionized." Sonic said as he tossed the baton to the sides.

It was then that Chaos, being held back by some ninja's at first, rushed at Sonic and swatted him with one of his huge arms. "Ouch…almost forgot about you." Sonic said. He saw how Chaos held Ken in one of his arms and electrocuted him with his own power, as Sonic curled up and spin-dashed through his arm, releasing Ken. "He may be messed up, but he's still a good guy being controlled and you won't hurt him blubber-butt!" Sonic stated. Chaos tried to grab Sonic again with his out-stretching arm but Sonic dodged…the fight was on again.

Sally was helping the Shinobi and Gosammer to take down some Raiju and Saru, as she nearly was hit when the Bride of Conquering Storm (or rather the clone sleeper agent put in her place) and barely avoided it. "So the feeble lizards and bugs can't fight us on their own, they rely on a pair of rodents to aid them…like you'll make a difference."

"I'm not afraid of you, you are a fake!" Sally said as she readied her tonfa's.

"I'm pretty real, and I'll show you how real these are!" Conquering Storm snarled as she tried to punch Sally.

Though Sally blocked with her tonfa and and pushes her arm away and blocked another punch with the second. Though a clone, Conquering Storm had the skills of the original, and enhanced with cybernetics she would be dangerous. But she relied too much on brute force, while Sally was the more rounded fighter. Conquering Storm kicks Sally in the stomach however and pushes her back and then tried punching her, but Sally jumped and flipped over her as Conquering Storm hit a wall with her fist and got stuck as Sally landed and bashed the back of her head with her tonfa.

Conquering storm broke free as rushed at Sally and punched her in the face. Sally wiped some blood of her mouth with the back of her hand as her tonfa's were transformed in their bo staff form. She jumped up, knocked the Bride down with her bo and landed back on her feet as Conquering Storm hit the ground face-first. Conquering Storm growled as she got up. But then Conquering Storm got hit by one of Chaos' stray lightning blasts from his fights with Sonic and knocked through a wall of a building. "Anti-climactic…" Sally admitted.

"Oh for the love of…do I have to anything myself?" a dark familiar voice muttered. Benedict on his hovering platform loomed over the battle scene.

"Benedict…I already got to deal with this crap, don't need you adding to it!" Sonic growled.

"Oh, I won't add much, just two things." Benedict said as he pulled out the blue and green Chaos Emeralds. Chaos stared at the two things in awe. "Yes, you want these? Robotnik got you one at the time, but I got you two at once!" Benedict said as he threw the Emeralds into Chaos. "Now he's mine!"

Chaos transformed again, this time into a much bigger fish-like form with the blue and green emeralds now encrusted in a pelvis-bone like structure in his tail. "Can no one cut us an slack?" Sonic moaned.

Chaos roared as it created several orbs of lightning in his hands as he tossed it at Sonic, who used his superspeed to dodge them all, but the blasts were much faster than last time so he was having more trouble. "Not good!" Sonic said.

"I'll help you!" Sally said as she pulled Slicer's blade from the scabbard on her back and attached it to her bo staff, turning it into scythe form.

"That's nice Sal, but last time it took two of us to take it down, but now it got another emerald added to it!" Sonic said.

"Then it's good there's more of us!" with that, Tails arrived on the scene.

"Hey bro! I already wondered when I'd run into you." Sonic greeted them.

"We're glad to see you too. We were hunting down some emeralds, but Benedict beat us to them. I see that thing is the result." Tails said as he pointed at Chaos 4.

"Yeah, but now there's the five of us, we'll kick it's slimy butt once more!" Sonic said.

"Lead the way, Sonic!" Tails said.

Chaos roared as he now saw he was up against three targets. Despite his fishy form, he slithered really fast, almost like a snake over the ground towards our heroes and lashed with one of his long arms, but the dodged. Tails flew up and performed a homing attack, but Chaos blocked it with his arms, but allowed Sonic to homing attack his back of the head. He was distracted as Sally delivered a vertical cut with her scythe that damaged his liquid shell and exposed the brain, which Tails homed in to.

Chaos roared as he melted before he reformed, looking really pissed. He raised his arms as some water from a nearby pond rose up and washed over the street. Tails picked up Sally and Sonic as the flood missed them. He then tossed both at Chaos, Sonic homed in, but Chaos swatted him with his massive arms, but Sonic recovered, climbed and ran up his arm and homed in on the head, dazing him as Sally kicked with her booted foot in the exposed brain.

Chaos melted again and reformed, now on its last legs. But that means he was more pissed then before. He roared as he raised his arms again and lightning raised from the sky. The heroes scattered to dodge the blasts, Tails looking especially frightened by the lightning bolts that came down! Sally took the blade of her scythe and planted it into the ground, redirecting the lightning.

Then the three rushed towards Chaos, who stretched out his arms to attack, but Sally slashes the arms of using the blade, as Tails flies forward with his tails in a drill-like formation as he thrusts through the liquid body, dispersing most of the water as the brain was once again and exposed and Sonic homed in on it, and Chaos melted once again into a puddle, defeated as it slithered away.

"Darn it! Why don't you just die already? No matter, I'll get the remaining emeralds and then even you won't be able to stop him! But for now I'll be taking my leave. My Legion shall cover my escape." Benedict said as he took his leave.

"I'll go after him, you concentrate on finding Chaos okay?" Tails said as he rushed off.

"Hey Tails, why the rush? And where are Fiona and Tori? And why are you after Bene-dick?" Sally asked.

"Fi and Tori are dealing with some of Benedict's henchmen elsewhere…listen, got no time, I explain later! Ciao!" Tails said as he flew off.

"What's with him? Did he also seem a bit off?" Sally asked.

"Guess he must have his reasons. I just hope what he's doing. Hate to say it, but we got other matters at hands. Chaos, and he was this tough with four emeralds, now to make sure he won't get the other three." Sonic stated.

However, suddenly Conquering Storm and Ken Khan stirred awake from the fight, the ninja's (the Raiju and Saru were knocked out and only the Shinobi and Gosammer were left standing) as well as Sonic and Sally took a battle stance once more.

"Ouch my head…" Ken said as he then saw a wound on his arm, exposing the circuitry of his Legionized underneath. "And what the heck has happened to my arm?" he asked. Then he realized something… "I remember, that fox guy…the Bride of Conquering Storm…but she wasn't exactly Conquering Storm…" he said.

"I guess Chaos' shocks must have restored his memories." Sally realized. "You okay?" she asked.

"No I'm not okay! I've been deceived by a sleeper agent, pumped full of love potion, turned into a cyborg, and my entire clan have become servants of that Benedict Fox. I've been turned against my allies and lost my credibility as a Lord!" Ken moaned.

"It's not your fault, Benedict has messed you up…" Sonic said.

"Still…I can't turn away from Benedict right now. The cherry bomb is still in my head, and all my clan members have one too, and he'll threaten their lives if I don't obey. I'm still in his grasp, though my mind is free, the rest of me isn't!" Ken explained.

"We'll try to find a way to disable the cherry bombs. It might take a while, but I suggest you play along with him until we find a cure, and we'll help you, we promise!" Sally said.

"That's very kind of you. But now you must let me and my clan take our leave before Benedict finds out and blows up our heads…" Ken said.

As Conquering Storm got up she looked dazed, and she no longer had a scowl on her face, but one of confusion. She looked at her hands, and saw the gloves were torn off, revealing the cybernetics underneath. She then flipped, screamed, curled up into a ball and cried.

"What's with her?" Sonic asked.

"She's a clone of Conquering Storm, she was programmed to do Benedict's bidding. She didn't realize herself she was a clone, as due to her programming she just did what seemed right to her. But she has received a massive blow to her head, breaking Benedict's programming partially…she now realizes what she is and the thoughts destroy her…she realizes she's a copy, a mere shadow, no person of her own. And it's quite a sad existence if you ask me." Ken Khan said.

"We know how that is, one of our friends suffer from the same problem as her." Sonic said.

Ken moved towards the Conquering Storm clone, who wouldn't stop crying. "I used to be mad at her for doing this to me, but it's not her fault, she was programmed like a machine, and now she's like this…and to think she'll be forced back into his service soon enough. Benedict has destroyed the lives of many, including those whom he created himself."

"I'm really starting to hate that guy as much as Buttnik! What he's doing is so disgusting. He's also on my hit list." Sonic growled.

"We'll manage to make him pay later on." Sally assured him. She then turned to the Shinobi and Gosammer: "Don't forget to tell the rest of the clan what has happened. The Saru and Raiju are forced in Benedict's service and shouldn't be looked down upon. They need to be saved, not destroyed."

"We'll make sure of that. I know you two have to leave now, since that thing you fought is still around. But we'll take care of things here now." Liza replied.

"We'll call GUN and the Freedom Fighters to make negotiations with the Brides, so that you can receive help while fighting Benedict and Robotnik." Sally said.

"Thank you!" Liza said.

"Don't do that just yet, it's far from over at this point." Sonic said.

Robotnik had watched from on top of his flagship. He had been distracted due to a crisis involving one of his own robots, and has been distracted. "Benedict, that fool tried to wrestle Chaos away from me, but I'll make sure it only will obey me!" Robotnik growled.

TO BE CONTINUED


	62. Sonic's Adventure V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO: ADVENTURE, SONIC STORY PART V

After an encounter in Chun-Nan, our heroes had tracked Chaos somewhere to a temple in Downunda. This part of the world was also under Robotnik's control, and the reason for Chaos being here was probably because Robotnik had something to lure Chaos with, probably another set of Emeralds.

The Temple also served as a recharging station for Robotnik's Swat Carrier, so it would land to pick up Chaos, as well as some supplies along the way. Swatbots and Robians alike were working to get the supplies in the ship.

Sonic and Sally, aided by the remaining Downunda Freedom Fighters, with Barby now in charge, were looking onto this. "Okay, we need to get onto that ship, and to do so, we need you lot to distract them, you can manage?" Sonic asked.

"You believe we can mate…" Barby replied. She turned to her teammates as she said: "Okay guys, you know what to do, trash as much as you can, draw the attention towards yourselves as good as you can, just give Sally and Sonic the time they need!" The other Downunda Freedom Fighters agree.

The Robians carried of some crates with Chaos Drives, oil, coolant and other stuff onto the ship, as the Downunda Freedom Fighters didn't wait. They immediately ran onto the scene. The Swatbots rushed at them as the Robians continued their work.

Barby used her spiky gauntlets to punch off the heads of the Swatbots, sending them flying through the air. A few Swatbots fired away their blasters at her, but Barby backflipped to dodge and pulled out some blasters from the holsters on her hips and shot back at the Swatbots with deadly accuracy.

Trash was…well, with his strength he had no trouble with the Swatbots. He first grabbed two of them, then smacked them into one another, squeezed their remains into a ball and used it to bowl the rest over. "STRIKE!"

Walt Wallaby pulled out some boomerangs from his pockets and tossed them as they sliced the Swatbots in half as they returned to him. He pulled out some other boomerangs, which embedded themselves in the Swatbots' chests and detonated, blowing up the machines.

Wombat Stu jumped on the back of a Swatbot, and pried loose the plate on its back and pulled lose some wirres, which made the Swatbot go haywire and shoot at his colleagues, blowing them up, before it crashed down upon himself. Then Stu grabbed it's blaster and continued to shoot down Swatbots by himself.

The Freedom Fighters of Downunda continued beating up some Swatbots. However, they were faced with a new opponent which they were reluctantly to fight. "B-B-Bill?" Barby asked. Indeed, the former leader and team member of the Downunda Freedom Fighters was there in front of them. He was now equipped with new armor (not weaponized, just added armor, I'm not Ian Flynn).

"We don't wanna fight you, buddy!" Trash said, but Bill didn't listen. Two compartments of his armor opened up and launched exploding discs at them, which they barely dodged. "But you leave us with no choice!" Trash said as he and the others got in battle formation.

Sonic and Sally sneaked around, unnoticed since the Swatbots had diverted attention to the Downunda Freedom Fighters. There were some few left behind to be safe, but Sonic and Sally quickly dispatched them with some clever stealth and attacks. They saw in the distance how Bill caught one of Walt's boomerangs and crushed it in his hands, before he launched another disc, which Barby shot out of the air.

"Damn Buttnik! How many of our own has he turned into Robians?" Sonic growled to himself as he and Sally crawled into a crate and locked themselves in. Some Platypus Robians carried the crate inside the Swat carrier, not knowing what cargo they would bring aboard. Though the Swatbots scanned the cargo for any intruders, a device supplied by Tails to hide their organic signatures helped a lot.

As the last of the crates was being carried off, the Downunda Freedom Fighters knew it was time to retreat. "Walt, smokescreen!" Barby whispered. Walt nodded, pulled out a boomerang, tossed it at Bill, as it exploded in a smokescreen to cover their escape.

Aboard the ship, Sonic and Sally crawled out as they would explore the ship, take it down from the inside and at the same time deal with Chaos. As they crawled out, they carefully looked around them, as they bumped into someone and at first were startled, but then recovered quickly when they realized who it was. "Knucklehead, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked.

"I sensed some Master Emerald Shards on top of the Swat Carrier so I stowed away." Knuckles explained.

"You had the same plan as us, I think. Listen, if any of us runs into Chaos first, they should warn the others okay. I'll give you one of our communicators." Sally said as she handed one to Knuckles.

"Thanks. There is also something about Chaos you should know…every time I collect a set of shards, I start to recollect more and more of my past, and somehow this Chaos is part of it. The last time we met I didn't bother you with it since I didn't understand all at first, but I'm close to figuring it out…once I have the final shards I can finally piece it together." Knuckles explained.

"Then I wish you good luck. You were left in the dark for so long you deserve to know after all this time." Sally said.

"Thanks. Now let's get going, Chaos isn't going to defeat itself. Let's move out." Knuckles suggested. Sonic and Sally went to the left, Knuckles to the right.

Sonic and Sally got themselves on the deck of the ship, as suddenly the ship started shifting and the other part of the ship was out of their reach due to the transformation. "Darn it!" Sonic said.

Then the speakers of the ship tuned up and Robotnik's voice sounded through the speakers: "You didn't think you get onto my ship unnoticed? Clever to stow away and mask yourselves, but the camera's never lie! Now, stay put as I prepare Chaos for his next transformation, so he can eradicate you. But have a few playmates amuse you in the mean time."

Several Swatbots arrived on the deck to confront our heroes. Though they knew they could easily destroy them, Robotnik was biding his time to prepare Chaos. But Sonic and Sally dispatched the Swatbots rather easily with a few homing attacks and swipes from tonfa.

It was then that a different robot entered the deck. It was white and red with a yellow head and a gun for a hand. "Oh wait, forgot one!" Sonic said as he rushed at it. Sonic homed in on it and knocked it back, but the robot still was still standing as it fire his firearm and blasted Sonic back. "Oof, this one's tougher than the rest." Sonic groaned.

Sonic rushed back at it, but then all of a sudden, a familiar voice said: "STOP!" All of a sudden, no one but Amy stood in between him and the robot.

"Amy? What are you doing here? And why are defending this machine?" Sonic asked.

"Long story…but this robot is not bad, he helped me and Lily escape! He's not bad!" Amy said.

"Lily? But wasn't she…" Sally noted.

As if on cue, Lily, now deroboticized (don't worry, we'll see these events in Amy's story) catching up with our heroes, now wearing a brand new outfit consisting of yellow pants, a white t-shirt with blue sleeves and a new hat with the Freedom Fighter symbol. "Hey guys!"

"Lily? You're okay, you're no longer…robotic." Sally said.

"Just put me back in the roboticizer and hit the reverse button and I was okay again. And thank goodness too, I was forced to build Battle Bird tech to upgrade his machinery in that state." Lily explained.

"What about this…robot?" Sonic asked as he pointed at the red robot.

"Gamma? I don't know, I just talked to him and he all of a sudden gained free will. He's my friend now." Amy said.

"Friend…" the robot called Gamma muttered.

"Well, if he really helped you, then he's good in my book. Sorry I attacked you, big fella. Friends?" Sonic said as he reached out his hand.

Gamma stared at the hand confused. "Gamma, shaking hands, sign of friendship." Amy explained.

Gamma grabbed Sonic's hand and shook hand. "You…are now Gamma's friend?" Gamma asked.

"Yep!" Sonic assured him. It was then that the ship shifted back to its normal position, so our heroes could go to higher grounds. "I think Knucklehead just made himself useful." Sonic added.

"Come on, I guess everyone wants a shot at Robotnik!" Sally said as she and the others moved on.

Then they came across Robotnik, joined by Orbot, Cubot and Elise. "No, who gave the order to reconfigure the ship back to its old state?" Robotnik said angrily.

"I dunno, Boss! Guess there's anotha joik on board who found the lever." Cubot said, still in his mobster Brooklyn accent.

"Someone called?" Knuckles said as he also arrived on the scene. "You didn't think I was going to miss the party, did I?"

"Not at all, there's enough butt in 'Buttnik' to be kicked!" Sonic said.

"Er…don't you think it'd be a good idea to call Chaos, sir?" Orbot asked.

"Right, good I thought of that. Chaos, come here!" Robotnik said as he pulled out two more Chaos Emeralds, the yellow and cyan ones. Chaos rose up once it sensed the emeralds, and Robotnik tossed them into the creature. It started to transform once more, now into a spider/frog-esque creature with a scorpion-like tail.

"Now I'll finally get rid of some of my least favorite people: the leaders of the Freedom Fighters, the guardian, that traitor Gamma, the princess of Mercia and the girl who wished she'd still be roboticized. Chaos, suppertime!" Robotnik said.

"When will he learn, you can throw him at us as many times as you like, but you can't defeat us. Come on, Freedom Fighters…and robot. Let's show them what we're made off!" Sonic said as the six heroes charged at Chaos 6.

Chaos starts by lashing with his tail, trying to swipe at our heroes, but they all were fast enough to dodge. Sonic tried to home in on the beast, but it's liquid skin has become so strong thanks to the new emeralds he bounces of him. "Okay, he couldn't do that last time!"

Amy fired her arrows, Lily her explosive darts and Gamma fired his gun, but it still only made it's skin ripple, but nothing much else. Knuckles tried to punch him but he bounced of it, and Sally's scythe couldn't cut through it either. Chaos then fired lightning, which the heroes again barely dodged. "Okay, this time he might actually prove a problem." Knuckles stated.

"Let's spice up things a bit more. Let's help Chaos out directly, shall we?" Robotnik said as he and Elise jumped down on the battle field as Orbot and Cubot mounted Robo-mobiles with various weaponry.

"Not good…" Sally said as Elise immediately jumped at her with a flying kick and Sally ducked under it to avoid and tried to launch a sweep kick, but Elise caught it and flipped Sally in the air, who planted her bo-staff, into the ground, spins on it, and spin kicks Elise away. Elise got back up as she punched Sally in the face, and then a second time, but then Sally slashes with her blade at Elise's face.

Elise was taken back, but her synthetic skin regenerated fast, but it was a distraction as Sally combined blade and bo staff back into a scythe as she used the scythe to grab Elise like a hook, then spin her around and slam her down into the ground hard.

Robotnik's hands glowed, no doubt the roboticizing energies and stretches them out, trying to hit Sonic with them. But Sonic just ran as fast as he could, and while he was ahead, he found Robotnik's stretching arms to stretch fast enough to keep up with him. "Idea!" Sonic thought as he ran around the ship, in curves and past objects and taking sharp turns, and then when he had made an entire lap of the ship, he was back at Robotnik, his arms having stretched all the way. Sonic stopped in his tracks, and the arms stopped about a foot away from him. "Guess you can't stretch any further…but I can still go!" Sonic said as he curled up and then sliced Robotnik's hands of them.

"No, not the arms, they are the hardest to replace. No matter, any physical contact with me should roboticize you anyways!" Robotnik said.

"Yeah, any direct contact, but guess what?" Sonic said as his arms vibrated very fast, allowing him to phase through Robotnik's chest and pull out the component that allows roboticizing, making Robotnik's powers useless. "If I can't run through something, I run around it!" Sonic tossed the roboticizing component off the ship, then spin-dashed into Robotnik, knocking him off his feet.

As Amy and Lily help Knuckles hold off Chaos, things don't see to go well for them. Sonic and Sally saw how Chaos knocked them over with its tail, while Gamma had managed to shoot Orbot and Cubot's Robo-Mobiles out of the sky (more details in Gamma's story). "Anyone got a suggestion on how to defeat this thing? I'd gladly take it now!" Knuckles moaned.

Sonic then noticed pieces of ice on the floor. "Where do those come from?" he asked.

"The Robo-Mobiles I fought with earlier had ice guns." Gamma explained.

"That's it!" Sally said as she moved towards the Robo-Mobile, which was laying down on its side and the cannon at the bottom was still quite intact. Sally dials some buttons on it and managed to reactivate the ice cannon and uses it to freeze Chaos. "Okay guys, now give it everything you got!" Sally warned.

"All right!" Sonic said as he spin-dashed into Chaos, breaking one part of its icy body and the blue emerald falling out.

Amy was next, fires and arrow that breaks another part and the purple emerald flies out.

Lily throws an explosive dart that blows up another part, the cyan emerald dropping out.

Knuckles punched one of the remaining part, and the grey emerald flung out.

Finally Sally destroyed the last piece of the icy Chaos and the yellow emerald came out as it shattered.

The heroes picked up the emeralds, as Sonic mocked: "You lose Buttnik!"

"No! Chaos was supposed to be invincible…but no matter, I still got my…" Robotnik moaned.

"Ship!" Orbot said.

"Yeah, that's right."

"No, ship!" Orbot said as he pointed at another airship next to them, Benedict's in fact (the Vulpin), ready for a collision course.

"Oh crud!" Normally Robotnik piloted the flagship with his own computer-like mind, but he wouldn't be able to react in time since he was so close to the Vulpin now, and he hadn't seen it coming due to Benedict's own cloaking tech and the fact he had been distracted.

The two ships collided head-on, rocking both and making our heroes drop the emeralds, which went overboard due to the rocking of the ships. "I thought Benedict was a better pilot then that!" Sally said.

"I think our buddy Tails might have thrown off the flagship like we did for this one…Now it seems is a good time to leave. But how?" Sonic asked.

"I can glide, and the robot has a jetpack, Lily has that flying board…but I don't think the rest of you can fly or anything." Knuckles said.

"The damage to these Robomobiles was minimal, I can still fix them up real quickly…" Lily said as she pulled out a spanner and a screwdriver and quickly tinkered with them. "They aren't perfect, but at least we should get to solid ground now." Lily said.

"Okay everyone, now let's bail!" Sonic said as he and Sally boarded the first Robo-Mobile and Amy the second. The remaining heroes just flew or glided safely towards the ground as the airships behind them headed towards the ground.

However, Orbot and Cubot could fly, Elise had a hoverboard Lily built her while still roboticized and Robotnik still has his hover platform. They also flew off safely. "Oh drat, there goes my flagship…oh well, I'll just convert one of my fleet's ship into a new one, I still got the knowledge that bluebird gave me about Battle Bird Tech. But first, I need to find those emeralds and Chaos, who went overboard earlier…" Robotnik moaned.

The heroes landed safely somewhere in the jungle. And as luck would have it, they found the Chaos Emeralds who fell off the flagship. Each of them picked up one of the Emeralds. "Good things they can't be destroyed by being dropped from the sky." Sonic stated.

"Well, Chaos is down and without emeralds, he should be easy to find and disable right now." Sally stated.

"Oh right, about him, there's something I wanted to tell…" Knuckles stated, but he was cut off when Elise on her hoverboard rushed by and swiped the grey Chaos Emerald from him.

"At least we won't go away empty-handed." Elise said.

"Come back here…Amy, you and Lily hold on the emeralds, me and Sal will go after her. Knuckles, your story must wait, you can restore the Master Emerald in the mean time." Sonic said as he and Sally rushed after them.

"Is it ever going to stop?" Knuckles moaned.

TO BE CONTINUED


	63. Sonic's Adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE: ADVENTURE, SONIC STORY PART VI

Last time, our heroes may have taken down Robotnik's flagship and recovered the emeralds (courtesy of Elise), but the evil doctor still has one and the heroes must reclaim it to prevent Robotnik from ever gaining control over Chaos again.

Sonic and Sally chased behind Elise, who led them to the jungle, where a factory stood. "She wants us to go inside, Buttnik probably has a trap set out for us…but this is one of the scenario's we don't have any choice, right." Sonic said.

"Pretty much. He could have an army of Swatbots or another giant mech waiting. Probably his lackey's are in there as well. Not to mention a roboticizer or two." Sally agreed.

"Well, he knows we're coming so no sense being sneaky, the direct approach is something we should go for. Just two of us against a whole factory…I like it when the odds are in our favor." Sonic said.

"I know you're joking and all to lighten the mood, but let's better get going!" Sally said as she and Sonic rushed at the factory.

"Yo, boss! Those Freedom Fighters are settin' foot in our factory. Youse gonna send him to the bottom of Never Lake with concrete boots?" Cubot asked.

"I will…make sure the hedgehog reaches me, I want to introduce him to my newest invention. And make sure the princess only gets killed or roboticized after I'm done with Sonic, don't want his demonic alter ego to come out." Robotnik said.

"As you wish sir…In the mean time we might need to do something about my brother's voice chip." Orbot said as he and Cubot left.

"Am I going to get another shot at that princess? I can't stand an organic getting the better of me!" she growled.

"If everything goes well and you behave, you might deliver the finishing blow or pull the levers on the roboticizer, depends how things go…" Robotnik said.

Sonic and Sally stormed through the factory and due to superior skills in fighting had no trouble turning the swatbots into scrap metal. Sally swatted them with her tonfa, as she rolled under a few laser blasts from Swatbots that missed her before she smacks the heads of the gunbots off, take their weapons and started firing at some others.

Sonic homing attacked on several Swatbots, turning them to scrap instantly. "Why do the bad guys always need to send out hordes of weak foot soldiers first?" Sonic asked.

"Probably he want to lure us in a false sense of security while he waits for us with a huge ass weapon." Sally stated.

"Then we give Buttnik a huge ass beating, which will be easy since he has a huge ass!" Sonic said as he and Sally made their way through the Swatbots. They then came across a door, which Sonic spin-dashed through and they arrived in a huge hangar.

Then the ground under lifted up like an elevator, the two of them being lifted in the air before the platform reached a high altitude. In front of them a flying serpent-like mecha flew, Robotnik piloting it. "Behold, my newest and most deadly creation thus far, the Vipernik!" Robotnik said.

"What's with the –Nik at the end? First it was the Egg prefix and now it's the 'nik' at the end. What's a 'nik' anyways? Is it a name like in 'Nick who lives down the street' or is like that nursery rhyme knick-knack paddywhack?" Sonic said, obviously trying to mock Eggman again.

"Ha-ha-ha! Laugh while you can, you won't laugh when my creations blows you off those platforms. Not even you can survive a fall this high, and with limited moving space, my robot shall obliterate you." Robotnik gloated.

"Haven't you learned, Buttnik? You can't limit me, I have no limits. So Sal, shall we paddywhack that Buttnik-knack? Okay, that sounded weird…" Sonic said.

"Let's skip the one-liners and just destroy that machine." Sally suggested as she grabbed her bo staff.

"Well, you know me, everything that's mechanical and has Buttnik's stench over it, I destroy." Sonic said with his usual cocky grin on his face.

"Get a load of this!" Robotnik said as his new Vipernik launches several missiles. Even if they'd dodge the missiles, the platforms would be destroyed. But Sonic thought quickly and homed in on the missiles, making them change course and hit anything but the platforms.

"I've got enough of your load, thank you! You know, that sounds really dirty somehow, and the fact you talk like you're climaxing over every word doesn't help." Sonic mocked.

"Silence!" Robotnik said as two hatches at the side of the Vipernik's head opened up and two heavily modified Swatbots came out. They were twice as big and bulky and carried huge lances. "Ultrabots, hold them down while I aim at them!" Robotnik ordered.

Sonic homing attacked one of them, but he blocked with his lance and Sonic bounced off. He swiped his staff as Sonic leaned back to dodge and rolled to the side as he nearly was slammed by the weapon. He spin-dash into the chest, but it sent the Ultrabot staggering, but damage was minimal as it recovered quickly.

Sally swiped with her bo staff but the Ultrabot parried. Sally split her bo back in tonfa as she blocked with one as she swatted the Ultrabot's face with another, but it only knocked it back slightly as it swiped with its staff again and Sally blackflipped to dodge."These ones are tougher…" Sally noted.

"Not as tough as us! Sonic Boom!" Sonic said. As he revved up and in a flash that broke the sound barrier rushed into the Ultrabot, sending it flying, before it fell off the platform and a long way down, shattering as it hit the floor.

Sally dodged the swipe of the Ultrabot's lance, and landed gracefully on top of the lance, before her bo staff spouted it's spear point into the eye of the robot, through its head, as it sparked and fell down.

"I got the time I needed to charge my laser, and now I'm firing it!" Robotnik muttered as the Vipernik blasted the platforms they were on, however the heroes jumped off and onto the body of the serpentine Vipernik. "You are stubborn, are you? Well I'm on a roll!" Robotnik said.

The Vipernik soon started barrel-rolling, and Sonic and Sally had to pick up speed and walk like they were on logs in the river to not fall off. "Hold on to me Sal, I need to use my great footwork while you have your hands free!" Sonic said as he scooped Sally onto his back as he kept making sure they wouldn't fall off.

The Vipernik made a looping, but Sonic pressed a button on the buckles of his shoes and spikes came out that embedded themselves in the metal surface of the machine. The Vipernik flew horizontally again as the cockpit turned around to face our heroes. Sonic ran across the serpentine body at full speed while Robotnik fired several laser blasts, which weren't fast enough to hit Sonic and only blew parts of its own body off.

Sonic jumped up, Sally jumped off his back, Sonic homed in on the cockpit several times in a split second, breaking of pieces of it, as Sally came down with her scythe and delivered a vertical slash with it, cutting it in half, alongside Robotnik.

"Argh! I hate you Freedom Fighters! Hate you…hate!" Robotnik said as the Vipernik's head exploded with Robotnik alongside it, but that was only a mechanical body as the black energy that was his true form left the burning wreckage and retreated. "It's not over yet!" it said before it left the scene.

The grey emerald flew out of the exploding wreckage and Sonic grabbed it in his hand. Then Sally pushed a button on her boots, and jets came out, and Sally flew by and caught Sonic in her arms as they flew off. "Well, for once the roles are reversed." Sonic joked seeing how he was carried by Sally for a change.

"We should thank Tails for modifying our gear." Sally stated. They landed safely on the ground, but soon found the factory around them collapsing.

"The fight must have destabilized this place, hang on!" Sonic said as he grabbed Sally and they rushed away out of the factory before it blew up. Orbot, Cubot and Elise had escaped earlier, but for the rest one of the Swatbot factories was already down.

"We got the emerald, we busted Buttnik again, things are finally looking up again!" Sonic said gleefully. Then Sonic and Sally's communicators went off. They took the call. "Yes?"

"Hey guys, Tails here! I just met up with the others and they told me how you went after Robotnik." Tails said.

"We did and we blew his toys and his factory to kingdom come. So what have you been up to?" Sonic asked.

"Well, being a pain in Benedict's ass, and I found someone I'd like you to meet…let's just keep it a surprise, everyone just has to gather and compare notes. Nicole has especially some good stories to tell." Tails answered.

"Nicole is there too? I thought she was supposed to stay at Knothole!" Sally said.

"She'll explain later! Now are you coming or not?" Tails asked.

"Be there in just a sec, bro!" Sonic said as they put their communicators away. "I'm wondering what my little bro has to show us." He said as he picked up Sally and they left to regroup with the others.

But from a nearby treetop Chaos eyed our heroes, as he slithered out of the tree and right on Sonic's trail, sensing the emerald he had, and the others had the other emeralds, which would give Chaos more reason to follow our heroes…looks like the heroes still haven't seen the last of him.

TO BE CONTINUED


	64. Tails' Adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR: ADVENTURE, TAILS STORY PART I

It has been two weeks…two weeks that our heroes have forced to hide in the force field dome of their city for two maniacal conquerors. The reincarnated Eggman now going by the alias Dr. Robotnik, as well as the regenerating cyborg fox Benedict. And both have caused casualties. Julayla and Namgge were dead, and Lily was roboticized.

The heroes had saved most of the people, but a small amount have been captured by the enemy's forces. War didn't come with casualties, but this wasn't an ordinary war anymore. Not as bad as before, no far worse in fact.

Tails was tinkering in his lab. He wasn't trying to actually build something, just fidgeting with spare parts and trying to make them fit into one another, but it proved to be a distraction of what has been going on. He sighed at what happened recently…

Tails hadn't really known the real Namgge, but from what he had seen, Namgge was just an innocent victim, a host for Eggman. He couldn't bring up great amounts of grief, but it made him sad Namgge wouldn't get a chance to make with his life what he wanted to.

And Julayla was a great mentor during their early days as a Freedom Fighters and a great teacher. Next to Sally she had been the closest thing to a mother Tails had. Okay, maybe a grandmother or uncle rather than a mother, but still…it was no secret she was terminally ill and she would die, but that she in her condition had the strength left to blow herself up in a failed attempt to wipe out the new villain…Benedict.

Tails somehow hated Benedict from the start. Maybe because of the comments he made about Fiona…maybe because he gave foxes like himself a bad name. Maybe because he's just as bad as Eggman, Robotnik or whatever he calls himself, is and has now control over half the world basically. But he's the one who created the Dulcy they knew as of today. But she was now even more depressed then before because of her existence.

Tails wondered why he hadn't gone bonkers yet. He has gone through what most people haven't gone through and he was only eleven…twelve years old in a few months. He was smarter than most adults and at his age he had already gone to war, fought robots and criminals, blew up factories and giant space stations, and seen people die in violent ways. Tails always felt kind of cheated out of his childhood.

What always Tails hit deep is how fake his family seemed. He didn't have real parents. Sonic and Sally practically raised him. He was adopted as a brother by Sonic and a surrogate son by Jules and Bernie, but he was too young to remember them back then…and they weren't his real parents. Though no doubt he by now loved all of them like family…he kind of stuck out like a sore thumb. A fox amongst hedgehogs.

It was then that Fiona, the love of his life walks in…oh now he remembers how he hasn't gone bonkers. She was there for him, and in a way he didn't feel alone when she entered his life, no longer the single fox…that and she was a sweet and kind girl and a great lover. "You okay, Tails?" she asked.

"That's an obsolete question to ask due to recent events." Tails stated.

"You know what I mean. I want to know how you are dealing with things." She asked again.

"If you have to know, terrible." Tails moaned.

"I didn't know Julayla like you did, and we didn't know Namgge that well…but Lily was our friend…but I feel that there is something else with you." Fiona said.

"You know me to well…and we're not even together for a year yet." Tails stated.

"Call it a girl's instinct." Fiona said.

"If you have to know…I feel like an outcast, more than ever." Tails admitted.

"Tails, I know you're smart so don't say dumb things, what do you mean 'outcast'?" Fiona wondered.

"The fact that I have no real family. Though Sonic and Sally have raised me, and Sonic's parents have taken me in…I feel like I don't belong anymore." Tails said.

"Tails, you're talking nonsense. What if they're not your family by blood, they aren't less of any family and they don't love you less. What makes you say that?" Fiona said.

"I…I dunno. I feel like I've been doubting everything I know recently…I doubted Cosmo when we first met her, I'm doubting my own family, I'm starting to doubt we'll see the end of the war…" Tails said.

"I know what your problem is. You've been penting up your emotions. Your young age, unusual high intelligence and all the crap you've gone through your whole life put you in a situation most people would lose their minds over. I know you're strong, cause you haven't yet. But it doesn't mean it can't happen. It can if you keep all of it in. You should talk about it more often. Not only with me, but the rest as well, you can trust them you know." Fiona said.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Tails asked.

"I'm no technowhiz, but I'm not a bimbo." Fiona replied.

"I'm glad you try to help Fiona…But I still want to know where I came from, who my real parents are…and why they left me with Sonic's parents." Tails stated. It was then that a burst of smoke erupted in the lab. A cloaked figure appeared in front of them. "Holy Walkers! Stand back Fi! Who are you and how did you get in?" Tails said as he sharpened his namesakes.

"I'm not here to fight you, Miles Prower. I'm here to enlighten you." the figure said.

"You know my name?" Tails asked.

"I know a lot about you…including the answers to the questions you have your whole life. You wanted to know where you came from right?" the cloaked figure explained.

"How can I know you're not lying?" Tails asked.

"If I can get past your technologic protection with ease, what makes you say I couldn't do anything else? If I wanted to harm you, I could have done so already." The cloaked figure said.

They heard knocking on the door, as the voice of Sonic sounded: "Hey, Tails, you in there?" the figure waved his hand, blocking out all sounds and locking the door. Sonic concluded Tails was too busy and left.

"Why did you do that?" Fiona asked.

"I wasn't done, no worries, I'll let you talk to him later…listen young Miles, soon you and your friends will once again deal with a great threat, and while your main objective is clear, amongst the way you'll deal with other threats, but you'll also find answers. The answers you seek are in Chun-Nan." The cloaked figure said.

"Chun-Nan? 'Land torn by war…' that's what it said on the note the day I was found…" Tails realized.

"Indeed. I can't tell you too much. But I can tell you this: once you are there, search for the Nanashi Clan. Heed my word, young Miles." The figure said as he dissapeared.

"What the heck was that about? And what is this Nanashi Clan?" Fiona wondered.

"I don't know, I always thought there were only six clans in Chun-Nan. But what if he's right?" Tails thought. It was then that an alarm sounded. "It'll have to wait!" Tails said as he dialed away on his computer, getting some security footage about a liquid being passing through the shields. "What's that thing, and how can he pass the shields? You can only get through with one of my specialized devices." Tails asked surprised.

"Never mind that, let's go stop that…thing, whatever it is." Fiona stated.

Tails agreed as he and Fiona left the lab and bumped into the others, minus Sonic.

"There you are. Have you heard the alert?" Sally asked them.

"We did…there was a thing that passed right through the shields, don't know how. Where's Sonic?" Tails said.

"Already rushed off, you know Sonic. Let's go after him." Sally said as Fiona, Tails and the others went off after Sonic.

However, when they got there, they already saw Sonic in front of a puddle that used to be the thing that phased through the shields as it slithered into the sewers.

"Sonic, couldn't you have waited for us? What was the threat actually?" Sally said.

"Taken care of, but it got away. It looked like a big drip. No seriously, it was a huge being made of water, causing chaos in town. Since I don't know what else to call him, let's refer to him as Chaos since that's what he just brought." Sonic replied.

"I've seen the security feed, and I saw how it tore itself through our shields. Those are supposed to be impenetrable. How did it do that, and what did he want?" Tails wondered.

"No time to think about that. It's still out here in the city, and we have to find it before it causes more trouble." Sonic explained.

"Right, we should split up and each scan a part of the city. Now go!" Sally said as the Freedom Fighters split up.

Tails and Fiona went into one direction, Tails pulling out a scanner to try to lock in on the creature's signature. "What does that thing say?" Fiona asked.

"The creature left a Chaos energy signature behind, and a very odd one…maybe that's why he could pass through the shields, the shields are powered by Ring energy after all…it's like that thing is liquidized Chaos energy." Tails explained.

They then bumped into Rosie…literally. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Rosie. We were looking for something…" Tails said.

"That something has attacked my husband! You have to come immediately!" Rosie said.

"Oh dear, we better worn the others…" Fiona said.

Later on, Tails, Fiona and the others have made it to Uncle Chuck, who was sitting in a couch, bandages around his chest, lying down. "That big oversized blueberry jelly is going to pay…if he gets out of the special zone that is." Sonic growled.

"Now we know why he came into the city, he wanted the Eternity Ring to get to the Chaos Emeralds." Tails stated.

"That thing was already giving me a hard time, imagine what it'd be like if he has the emeralds as well. I just hope that seahorse chick Espik can hold him off. Though she shouldn't lose to the likes of him, right?" Sonic added.

"We still have to be careful sonny, that thing was unlike everything I've ever seen. A being made of living water, a liquid with sentience, something that science has deemed impossible, but not the laws of the mystic. It's obviously supernatural and thereby a serious threat." Uncle Chuck said, still moaning in pain.

It was then that an image of Espik appeared in front of them, transparent and looking weak. "I don't have much time, I hope my message reaches you, young hedgehog. The Special Zone is gone…The being your fought is an evil that laid waste upon the world long ago…I couldn't let him have the emeralds. I had to cast them out my zone…No worries, they're in places where neither the dark being or the hooded one rule…but you got to be fast, I don't know if I can destroy it…get the emeralds before it does…" and with that the image faded.

"That doesn't sound good. That thing is a bigger threat then we thought. If only Espik had more time to tell us more…" Sally said.

"You heard her, no time to waste, we need to get the Emeralds before that thing does, where ever it is now. Can we get a fix on it, and on the Emeralds?" Sonic asked.

"I can use the global FF satellite network to track down the whereabouts of the Emeralds…just a sec." Tails said as he took out his laptop and dialed away. "Yeah, I found their signatures. They're mostly spread over Northammer and Soumerca, though they're some in Chun-Nan too." Tails said. Tails suddenly thought of what the stranger said about Chun-Nan…

"Then we need to move out and split into groups…Each of the groups not only have to go after an Emerald before Robotnik or Benedict finds it, but also a group needs to stay behind to keep guard of the city, just in case." Sally suggested.

"Er…is it good, if Fiona and I take Chun-Nan?" Tails asked.

"Sure, but why?" Sonic asked.

"Er…no reason. Just feel like I should do that. Hard to explain." Tails said. He didn't want to tell Sonic and the others about the strangers yet, mostly because he didn't know what the stranger said was true…and he didn't want to hurt their feelings if he told them he might found out where his parents are.

"Sure, why not. As long as we get the job done. Now, Amy, you need to stay behind and be part of the group and stand guard." Sally said.

"What? Why?" Amy asked annoyed.

"You are still shaken by the recent events that happened to Lily…not that we're not all are, but you are her girlfriend and we can't risk a direct confrontation in your case right now." Sally explained.

"No! I won't stand down! What are you afraid off?" Amy asked.

"If you see Lily, you might try and save her, and while we want to do that too, we're afraid you might rush into things and Robotnik can take advantage of your emotions." Sally added.

"What if I want to save her? Have I no right to do so? I can get the emerald and save Lily." Amy said angry.

"We'll do that when the time is right. But now we have to focus on the…" Sally said, but Amy didn't listen as she stormed out of the room. "She needs to cool off, she'll be back. Now, as I said…if Tails and Fiona take Chun-Nan, I think that…"

But as Sally wanted to speak up again, Bunnie suddenly collapsed on the floor. "Mon dieu! Bunnie, Bunnie!" Antoine said as he shook her unconscious form.

"Oh, why do the bad things keep happening in rapid succession?" Sonic moaned.

"She's bleeding out her mouth!" Antoine said panicky…

They had brought Bunnie to the hospital. There they were greeted by the diagnosis of the local doctor, Dr. Quack. "We have thoroughly checked out her entire physiology. It appears her cybernetics make her suffer from the same fate as other experiments of Robotnik: the body starts to reject the implants, and it's killing her. I'm surprised it didn't happen to her sooner…her blood is poisoned, her nerve system is out of whack, and you don't want to know the rest." He said.

"Is zere something we can do to help her? Ma pauvre Bunnie?" Antoine asked desperately.

"Well, it's a tricky business. Not only her limbs are replaced by cybernetics but also some organs. Though we can find donors, her blood group is rare so it doesn't help, and then we need to purge her blood of all the metal bits and toxins, not to mention that we discover she has NIDS, and the only thing suppressing it are those limbs. If we remove them and if we successfully manage to give her prosthetics that aren't damaging, find the right donors, and clean her blood, she'll have to spend the rest of her life swallowing pills so her body won't reject the new organs, then other to keep her blood clean and to add pills to suppress her NIDS…all very difficult and little chance she can survive." Dr. Quack said regretfully.

"We need to do everything to find a cure for her…but there is that Chaos thing still roaming. Can't we ever get a break?" Sonic asked.

"You 'ave to go and save ze world, I need to stay with ma chèrie while ze doctors do what they can." Antoine said.

"How much as I hate to say it, we can't stay behind and watch, we indeed have to get those Emeralds…life makes us take tough decisions." Sally said sadly.

"If one more thing goes wrong, I'm gonna lose it." Sonic muttered.

One of Tails gadgets beeped. He pulled it out. "Another shield breach, but this time from the inside. Someone has broken out of the city." Tails stated.

"How can a normal Mobian get past the shields?" Fiona asked.

"I have a few special gizmo's, which I invented solely for us, which allows us to freely move in and out of the shield without harm, so that we can get out the city more easily for missions without lowering the shields." Tails explained.

"But who has snuck out of the city?" Sonic wondered. Then they looked around and saw someone was missing. "AMY!" everyone said at the same time.

"We should have kept an eye on her! We knew she wasn't thinking straight, and now she struck out on her own to save Lily." Rotor moaned.

"We had a lot on our mind, and I do mean a lot. How can we concentrate on finding her, the Emeralds, save Bunnie and stop this Chaos thing at the same time?" Sally wondered.

"We still can do this, we just need to plan out everything a little better…" Nicole assured them.

"Then we better start planning, cause things are only getting worse form here on." Sonic stated.

Tails and Fiona were packing for Chun-Nan. "You should have told them." Fiona stated.

"We first have to make sure what he says is true. Besides, we have to be in Chun-Nan anyway to get the Emeralds, and in case of emergency we can always contact them."

"Can someone fill me in by any chance?" Tori asked, as the baggage was being loaded into her.

"We'll explain on the way to Chun-Nan…Tails, I have a bad feeling about this, and I'm not sure whether it's that liquid Chaos being, or that creep in the cloak, or that we might run afoul of Benedict or Robotnik, something just bugs me!" Fiona said.

"No need to worry, we still have each other. Whatever we're going to face…well it can't get any worse then what we're in now." Tails assured her.

"I hope you're right, Tailsy." Fiona said.

"I so hope you'll make sense when you explain this on the way." Tori moaned.

As Tails and Fiona took flight in Tori, as the Tornado passed through the shields and flew off in the air in the direction of Chun-Nan, the mysterious cloaked being watches them. "So it begins…you'll finally learn who you are my nephew. Though I wished I could have told you I am right away, but the Walkers prevent me for now. I just hope that I can help you soon. Cause your parents aren't the only one who are sad to have left you behind."

TO BE CONTINUED


	65. Tails' Adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE: ADVENTURE, TAILS STORY PART II

Tails and Fiona inside Tori had flown off towards Chun-Nan, not only to find a few Chaos Emeralds that were supposed to be there, but to find out if the warning of the cloaked one was true as well. Fiona had been worrying about Tails lately, as he has been in sort of an identity crisis. Tails stated he was fine, but Fiona didn't believe it.

Later on they had found a nice place to land themselves, outside of civilization to not draw unwanted attention from any clan. As they had landed, they camouflaged Tori's plane form. And Tori transferred her consciousness into a new body, a hoverbike-like vehicle Tails created. This blue vehicle drove out of the cargo bay of the plan and then shifted shape like a transforming machine from a cartoon whose name has slipped me…

Tori's humanoid smaller form was about their height, if not a few inches shorter and looked much sleeker then the Mecha Mode her plane form had. "I kind of like it. But seriously, does these thrusters make my aft look big?" Tori said.

"You look fine Tori." Fiona said. Fiona was wearing her new bodysuit, consisting of a yellow bodysuit, which had a white stripe going down the middle, and long white gloves and white boots.

"We still need to find those Emeralds before anyone else does. I suggest we get started." Tails said as he pulled out an emerald scanner and started to scan the area. "That's odd, something is scrambling the signal of my scanners."

"Wait, let me…hey, someone's messing up my stuff too!" Tori replied.

"What could it be you think?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Tails said as he grabbed his universal tool and started augmenting the scanners. However, it didn't seem to be working. "I don't think my technology is going to help us now."

"How come I am not completely messed up by the interference?" Tori asked.

"Must be the Power Ring Matrix powering you…" Tails said. Suddenly Tails' ears jerked up as he turned his head towards a certain direction. "Did you sense that too?" Tails asked.

"Er…except some sand in my circuits I don't know what you're talking about." Tori asked.

"I don't sense anything either…what exactly do you sense?" Fiona asked.

"Can't explain it, I just feel something…" Tails said as he casually walked towards a certain direction. Tori and Fiona shrugged their shoulders and followed him. After walking for a few miles, they came across a solid rock wall. "It's here…" Tails said.

"What is here? An Emerald?" Fiona asked.

"No something else…" Tails said.

"Er…don't mind me, I'm just a machine, but that is a rock wall!" Tori said.

"I don't think so!" Tails said as he stepped forward and phased right through the rock wall. Fiona and Tori looked baffled, the latter pulling out her optics, rubbing them and putting them back in. Tails head' phased back through the rock wall as he said: "You coming? It's just an illusion of sorts." Fiona and Tori followed Tails through the rock wall inside.

There they found an entire green and tranquil garden, with a pond, cherry trees of which the cherry blossom petals blew in the wind… "Nice place but what is it exactly?" Fiona wondered.

"I dunno…I'll go ahead a bit, you wait here." Tails said as he flew off a bit in the distance.

"I think it's kind of tranquil." Fiona stated about the garden.

"I think it's boring." Tori moaned. However it was then that the two heard something. "I don't think we're alone in here." Tori stated as she looked around. Her scanners might have been scrambled a bit by this place, but she still could see and hear very well. Fiona pulled out her daggers.

Then all of sudden, from the ground three figures rose up from the ground very quickly. Tori and Fiona could make out something shimmering, like a blade and didn't hesitate. Fiona pulled out her daggers as Tori's forearms sported two blades as they blocked the incoming impact of some blades.

As they blocked the impact of two katana's and a war fan, they saw a trio of foxes wielding them. One of them was male and had a light brown color and white muzzle, black eyes, and he wore some sort of blue ninja uniform. He was joined by two vixens. One had the same color fur and muzzle as him, as well as the same black eyes, had a green uniform and wore her hair in a ponytail. Then there was a vixen who had the same coloring of fur as Fiona with black hair and violet eyes.

"Intruders! How did you find the home of the Nanashi Clan?" the male fox asked.

"Nanashi…I thought I heard that cloaked guy talk about them." Fiona thought before she spoke up: "We found this place by accident." She said.

"Liars! No one finds a place cloaked by mystical spells by accident!" the pony-tailed vixen said angrily.

"Spells? Magic? So their mojo was scrambling our scanners." Tori stated.

"Listen…we're not here to fight, we mean no harm, we just stumbled upon this place…" Fiona said.

"Liar!" the black-haired vixen said as she lashed with her war fan, Fiona backflipping to dodge as she saw the black haired vixen rushed at her, but she launched a kick, which the vixen dodged as she tried to punch Fiona, who blocked the punch and kneed the vixen in her stomach. The vixen recovered and headbutts Fiona.

The other vixen with the pony-tail lashed with her sword at Fiona while she was distracted, but Tori was fast enough to block the blow for Fiona with her arm blades as she then swiped with them at the pony-tailed vixen, who dodged them all swiftly. The male fox jumped in with his own sword, Tori blocking a swipe from him, then from the pony-tailed vixen.

It was then that Tails flew back in and swooped down, tackling the male fox down to the ground, who then soon kicked Tails off him. Tails then regrouped with Tori and Fiona, readying his tails. "Leave my friends alone!" he growled.

The three foxes first had their weapons ready before they noticed the namesakes of Tails. "Do you see that?" the male fox asked.

"Yeah I do!" the pony-tailed vixen replied.

"It's him!" the black-haired vixen added.

The three foxes then lowered their weapons and dropped on their knees, confusing the trio of heroes. "We're sorry we didn't recognize you, holy kitsune. We beg for forgiveness." The male fox said.

"Er…you talking about me?" Tails asked.

"Of course, you have the two tails, you are the kitsune. You're a legend amongst us Nanashi." The black-haired vixen answered.

"Nanashi? That's what the cloaked figure said…" Tails realized. "Er…that's all nice and stuff, but we're kind of on a mission here, we're looking for these emeralds…" Tails said.

"Our clan leader Lord Trogg has recovered an emerald not long ago. This might be the one you may be looking for, great kitsune!" the pony-tailed vixen said.

"Er…please call me Tails. And these are my girlfriend Fiona and my friend Tori." Tails introduced themselves.

"Certainly ki…Tails. Sorry we attacked your friends. We mistook them for intruders. Us Nanashi have been living in hiding for long and are very protective of our territories. I am Errol Blackthorn." The male fox introduced himself.

"I'm Morain, Errol's sister." The ponytailed vixen said.

"I'm Li Moon." The black haired vixen added.

"Our Lord and our clan would love to see you. Come with us." Errol said.

"Should we go?" Fiona asked.

"Well, they said they have one of the emeralds…can't pass that opportunity." Tails said as they followed Errol, Morain and Li Moon.

They crossed the garden until they came across a large palace, typical Feudal Japan style, they were let in by Errol and his gang. On the courtyard several fox ninja's were seen training and sparring. But they dropped everything and bowed once Tails came into view.

"Whoa, Tails, you're pretty famous." Tori said.

"Why shouldn't he be? The kitsune, always part of the Trinity that has protected this world from evil, represents us foxes and thereby we worship the kitsune." Errol explained.

"Er…all nice and stuff, but believe me that I'm just a Mobian like everyone else…except the two tails. And I'm here on a mission. There's a monster out there and it's after the Chaos Emeralds…Your clan is in danger, you need to get the emerald to another place." Tails stated.

"Humble, and worried of our well-being, your pure heart clearly shows you are the legendary kitsune for sure." Errol said.

"Though not to worry, we got protective spells all around the place, it's capable of masking any Chaos signature. The creature will not find us. You only found us because of your powers." Li Moon added.

"Still…I want to see if the emerald is really secure." Tails said.

"We'll show you the Emerald, and meanwhile you can meet our leader, Lord Trogg." Morain said.

"Er…sure." Tails said as he and the others followed Li Moon, Errol and Morain inside the palace.

Tori looked back and forth between Fiona and Li Moon, realizing how similar their furs looked. "Are you related by any chance?" Tori asked them. They look at her awkwardly. "Just asking."

They came in the throne room of the palace. An elderly fox with the same shade of fur as Errol and Morain came into view. He wore long black robes and had something of a goatee out of the white fur of his muzzle. "Lord Trogg, we have been honored by the presence of no one but the legendary kitsune and his friends." Errol said to his lord as they bowed.

The Lord looked firmly at them first, making the heroes feel uneasy but then he smiled and greeted them: "The legendary kitsune…it's a honor to welcome you in our humble abode." Trogg said.

"Humble? It's a freakin' palace!" Tori muttered.

"Er. Thanks and all. My name's…" Tails wanted to introduce himself.

"Miles Prower. Believe me, I know your name. I was there the day you were born. I knew your parents really well in fact." Trogg said.

Tails couldn't believe what he heard. "You knew my parents? My real parents? Can you please tell me about them? I-I-I got to know!" Tails said.

"Easy, young Prower. I'll tell you all the details. During the feast we'll be throwing you. I bet you're hungry from your travel here." Lord Trogg said.

"Well we kind of rushed off without having breakfast…" Fiona said when she rubbed her growling stomach.

"Okay, why not?" Tails said.

"Do they have oil?" Tori asked.

Later on, Tails, Tori and Fiona were joining Lord Trogg and some high ranking elite warriors, amongst them Errol, Morain and Li Moon. Several delicious dishes with rice, spring rolls, sushi, beef stew and much more were served.

"Oh right, you wanted to know about your parents, right?" Trogg noted.

"Yes, I really do. Please tell me…" Tails said.

"Well…it started with our previous leader, Lady Rao, aka the Bride of Golden Silence. She was so devoted to her clan she had pushed aside her own needs…thereby she didn't have time to find a husband and have kids. Which in those cases she was forced to appoint a heir amongst her ranks. However, fate was kinder to her when she found an orphan vixen…Rosemary, your mother. She raised her as her own and appointed her heir. Some of the clan didn't like that…

You see, amongst our ranks there are Purists, who see outsiders who don't carry the blood of Nanashi as vermin. That she was chosen made their blood boil. And they got even angrier when your father entered the picture, Amadeus Prower. He was an ace pilot who accidentally crash-landed in our lands. He was hurt badly and your mother, the kind woman she is tended to his wounds. During that time they fell in love…and then they married and had you!" Trogg started to explain.

Tails let out a single tear of joy, as he now knew the names of his parents. "That is kind of a sweet love story, minus the Purist thing…" Fiona stated.

"Oh, but it didn't end like a fairytale, unfortunately. Not only the Purists were mad an outsider was appointed heir of Lady Rao, and that another outsider was married into the clan…they were also disgusted that the legendary Kitsune was born to these two outsiders. Your parents feared for your life and hid you somewhere the purists wouldn't think of finding you far from home." Trogg continued.

"What happened to them? Are they still alive? Are they looking for me?" Tails asked, quickly and anxious to know.

"No one knows, after that we heard they got themselves in a massive fight with the purists, and disappeared after that." Trogg replied.

"No, I finally found out what happened to them only to vanish again?" Tails said angrily, stomping the table with his fist angrily.

"I understand your anger…I was very fond of Lady Rao and of young Rosemary. I was hurt when they vanished…I reluctantly took on the role of the next Lord to honor their memories. Unfortunately the Purists still live as well, but they work so secretively that we haven't unmasked them all yet. They might be amongst my own ranks, and not even know it. We have to be careful young Prower." Trogg finished his story.

"Isn't there the slightest clue about their whereabouts? Anything at all?" Tails asked.

"Unfortunately, no! However, you are their son, you yourself might be the key to finding them. Your presence will draw the attention of any fox. Maybe it draws the purists out of hiding so we can force some info from them…" Trogg stated.

"What would the Purists want with Tails?" Fiona asked.

"The Purists seek to glorify their own pure Nanashi blood, and while mingling the bloodline of the kitsune, no matter who his parents are, into their own they think they'll be the most glorious of all bloodlines!" Trogg said.

"That sounds nasty." Tails stated.

"I know, those purists are a mad bunch. But luckily you can count on me and my elites, each of them are reliable warriors who know where their loyalty lies." Trogg said. "But let's worry about them later, there is a feast going on after all." Trogg then stared at an empty seat next to him. "My daughter is late again. That girl, I don't know what to do with her." Trogg sighed.

It was then that the doors of the dining room were tossed open, and a vixen came walking in like she was some sort of diva. She had a light brown tone of fur, platinum blonde hair and wore a fancy looking kimono. "Daddy! DADDY! Tell those tailors that they need to need to make a new dress, this one is the last one I have." she said.

"Pumpkin, it isn't easy for them, you always want something new every day…" Trogg said meekly.

"And the feast is ruined…" Li Moon moaned.

"Trogg's daughter is a spoilt brat. I curse the day she'll follow up as the next Bride." Morain said.

"Can you please behave, Tsukki-Nowa? After all it is the feast for the holy kitsune!" Trogg said.

"Tsukki-Nowa growled, up until the point she noticed Tails. At first everyone was afraid that she would act snooty towards him, seeing how little respect she showed to everyone. But what they didn't expect was…

"Hubba-hubba!" she then moved towards Tails, pushed Fiona out of her seat and sat down next to him. "Hey, handsome! And who might you be?" she asked.

"Er…Tails." Our two-tailed fox friend said uncomfortably.

"I'm Tsukki-Nowa…the 'Crescent Moon' if you will. And you, Tails, are one handsome young man! Young, but damn look at that physique and that cute chest fur, much better than the boys I see prancing around the dojo." She cooed.

"Thank, but…" Tails wanted to say, but Tsukki-Nowa wouldn't let him.

"You even are the famous kitsune. That makes you more of deserving of…moi! You and I are meant to be, the glorious princess of Nanashi and the legendary hero. Now pucker up, and kiss me, handsome!" Tsukki-Nowa said.

"Er…I can't do that. I already have a girlfriend." Tails stated.

"So what? She's been holding onto you for me. She served her purpose…" Tsukki-Nowa replied. It was then that she was grabbed from behind and tossed into a wall.

It was Fiona who had picked herself up, and now was growling ferociously. "Get…your…filthy…hands…of my boy!"

"Your boy? You mean that he prefers an outsider, a commoner over me, the daughter of the Nanashi Lord?" Tsukki-Nowa growled.

"He does! You can't get him just cause you want him." Fiona said.

"I always get what I want!" Tsukki-Nowa stated.

"Not today." Tails said as he stood up and rushed at Fiona's side. "I don't know what the insta-crush comes from, but I love Fiona…and you need some serious help. And you also got to learn to get over that bratty side of yours…Oh, one more thing!" Tails said as he turned around and kissed Fiona passionately on the lips. After he broke apart, Fiona was left with a dreamy look on her face, as Tails turned back around and said: "There!"

Tsukki-Nowa looked like she was going to have a serious anger outburst at first. But soon her complexion changed and cried in the way a spoilt brat cries when she doesn't get what she wants and runs out of the room.

"Thank you for that. We've been waiting for someone to put her in her place. She is so annoying… 'tell me I'm pretty!' 'Fetch me a glass of water!' 'Carry my stuff!'" Morain said.

"Trogg won't go in against her and we're not allowed to either." Li Moon said.

"I'm never going to forget this, if only because I can record everything I see like a camera." Tori said.

"I'm so sorry for my daughter's behavior…but after my wife passed away she's all I've got and…I tried to make sure she had everything she wanted. I'm a weak man when it comes to her." Trogg said.

"It's good to love a daughter, but if you want to be a good father, you have to teach her manners." Tails stated.

"I know. I hope this hasn't ruined the feast for you." Trogg stated.

"No it hasn't. I got to see my girl being bad-ass and the others enjoyed the show. Just talk to her later, 'kay? I guess you and her both will need it." Tails said.

From somewhere else, the cloaked figure looks at Tails through a glass orb. "I've shown you the way…but the journey is yours to make. I just hope that you'll learn in time nothing is what it seems…cause Ch'auzz is not the only danger in the world."

TO BE CONTINUED


	66. Tails' Adventure III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX: ADVENTURE, TAILS STORY PART III

After an awkward moment where Lord Trogg's daughter Tsukki-Nowa nearly ruined the feast in Tails' honor, things were looking up again and the rest of the feast went without any other disasters. "Lord Trogg…there's something that I meant to ask…you do realize the world is at war now, the entire world fights the opposing forces of two evil dictators. Why isn't your clan part of the opposition." Tails asked.

"There's a war? One other then the clan wars in Chun-Nan?" Errol asked surprised.

"You mean you don't know? It's hard to ignore, four clans have already fallen to the grip of the two dictators and now they both seek to claim the rest of the country." Fiona stated.

"Er…no. Actually we never even left the garden before. Lord Trogg is very protective of the clan and doesn't allow us to leave. We only react to danger as it approaches the garden." Li Moon stated.

"That's in fact the stupidest thing you can do. Hiding from the world as it slowly gets devastated, soon there is no more world to go to or when the entire world is conquered it will be a matter of time before this garden is discovered. Sitting here doing nothing only puts you at more risk." Tails said.

"The Garden was built by the ancestors of Lady Rao to protect our clan, and that's what we do. While before our clan got out in the world once in a while, we didn't want anything to do with the Clan wars, as it threatened to have our people get caught in the middle and since I became lord then we swore uttermost secrecy since then." Lord Trogg said.

"Why not acting as mediators between the clans then?" Tori asked.

"We want nothing to do with those war-mongers." Trogg said annoyed.

"Not all of them fight for the sake of fighting. I mean, the Shinobi seek justice, the Gossamer seek a better future and the Saru, before the clan fell, sought honor. I thought that the Nanashi sought those as well." Tails said.

"I will not risk the lives of my people!" Trogg said, standing up and sounding angrily. He then calmed down and said: "My apologies…I think we should end our feast here. You should get to bed, you need rest." Trogg said as he left.

"Forgive Lord Trogg, the death of his wife fell hard on him." Morain said.

"Did she die because of the clan wars?" Fiona asked.

"No actually, she was poisoned, we never knew who did it but we believe it to be Purists…" Errol explained.

"Still there is something that doesn't make sense…but I can't put my finger on it. Never mind me, I get suspicious easily, that's what you get when you fight in a war of ages." Tails said.

"Tails…is the war really that bad? Has the world really fallen into ruin after the Nanashi went into hiding?" Li Moon asked.

"It is…families are torn, skies have been polluted, innocents have been reduced to mindless slaves. And now a creature has been unleashed that seeks the power of the Emeralds, which will make things even worse. That's what I fight, that's why I've fought each day of my life to try and make things better." Tails answered.

"I know Lord Trogg means well for our people, but how can he watch the suffering of others at the cost of that? Is he scared?" Morain wondered.

"We don't know…let's just get to bed and sort things out tomorrow." Fiona suggested.

Fiona, Tails and Tori were given a very nice room to sleep, they were really bathing in luxury. Tori was set in standby mode as Tails and Fiona tried to fall asleep. However, they couldn't sleep. "I'll go and look if there isn't anywhere we can get some warm milk or something, be right back!" Fiona said as she left the room.

Rubbing her eyes she casually walks around the castle. She then heard something, a conversation of sorts. "The kitsune gets suspicious of me. I can sense it…that's why we need to act fast. And that's where you come in. If things go right, we both get what we want." The voice was familiar, yet unfamiliar.

"You mean I finally get that handsome two-tailed hunk? But what about the vixen he's with? He's head over heels for her, he loves her so much. You see how he defended her." That voice sounded more familiar. The air of brattiness and stuck-up attitude. Had to be Tsukki-Nowa.

Fiona peeked around the corner and indeed saw Tsukki-Nowa, but even more surprised to see Trogg. Only he didn't have the kind and warm looking complexion he had earlier, but now a menacing one. "We'll dispose of her…frame her as a Purist so the people will mistrust her." Trogg said.

"But her boy will stick up for her. And then there's that machine" Tsukki-Nowa said.

"Indeed, but not once you've fed him the love potion…you have to swallow your pride and 'admit' your mistake, but once that's done you have your man and can drop it all. Once he's under your spell, he'll do whatever you say…which includes forfeiting that impure vixen and that mud-blooded non-fox foster family of his, and reprogram the robot to our faithful servant." Trogg said. Fiona couldn't believe it, Trogg was a purist? The leader of the Nanashi.

"But what about Lady Rao's teachings? They are still fresh in the minds of the clan and your attempt at subtly influencing them have failed so far." Tsukki-Nowa said.

"Yes…I know, trying to subtly print my ideas on Lady Rao in my early days failed, and even more when Rosemary and Amadeus entered the picture and I was forced to keep up the act of kindness and loyalty…but they worship the kitsune, with the love spell he'll be a pawn to us and convert the Nanashi to our cause. And once you marry him, his bloodline and ours will merge into the most glorious bloodline ever!" Trogg said.

Fiona had heard enough…she had to warn Tails and Tori. She silently tried to sneak away, only to be greeted by several Nanashi clan ninja's. "Seize her!" one of them said as they rushed at her. Fiona however, managed to fight them off. One of them tried stabbing her with a spear, but she caught it in her hands, pulled the ninja toward her and punched him hard. Another two tried attacking with their katana's but she pulled out her daggers, blocked the attack, pushed the swords from their hands and delivers two punches to knock them out.

However, Fiona didn't see in time that a net was being dropped on her and she became trapped. She tried to cut her way loose, but the ninja's took her daggers away. "Let me out! Lord Trogg is a fraud! He's a purist." Fiona said.

"Liar! Lord Trogg would never be something like that." One of the ninja's said.

"What's going on here?" Trogg and Tsukki-Nowa arrived on the scene.

"Lord, this vixen was sneaking around the castle and accuses you of being a Purist." The ninja said.

"Poor girl, she must have gone insane…maybe poisoned by Purists or something. Take her away to the dungeons, I'll have this investigated later." Trogg said as Fiona was carried off. While no one was looking Trogg made an evil scowl at Fiona while Tsukki-Nowa stuck out her tongue and pulled her left lower eyelid down.

"I'm telling you, you're being bamboozled. Trogg and her daughter are bad guys!" Fiona tried to argue. The ninja's shrugged it off. However, suddenly three streaks rushed by and knocked the ninja's down and out and released Fiona. As Fiona was handed back her daggers, she saw Errol, Morain and Li Moon. "You guys? Thanks. I got to warn you…Trogg is…" Fiona said but was cut off.

"We know! We became suspicious when you brought up the war during the feast, and we were warned by a fella in a cloak later on. He says he knows you." Errol said.

"Yeah…that's the guy who warned us to go to Chun-Nan in the first place. He's apparently on our side after all. Now we need to warn Tails, before they drug him." Fiona said. The four foxes then rushed off to see Tails.

Tails just came back from the bathroom as he heard knocking on his bedroom door. He opened up and saw Tsukki-nowa, carrying a tea tray. "You!" Tails said.

"Don't be startled. I'm here to apologize for my actions. Me and my dad had a talk…I want to make up. It's tradition that Nanashi make up with special tea. You want to give me another chance?" Tsukki-Nowa asked.

"Fine…but I'm watching you!" Tails said.

Tsukki-Nowa poured in some tea, secretly spiked with special love potion. She handed Tails a cup. She had a normal cup of tea for herself. She handed Tails the spiked tea and raised her own cup. "To friendship?" she asked. Tails shrugged and raised his cup too as they both brought the tea to their mouth.

"No, Tails! It's a trick!" Fiona said as she rushed in, followed by Errol, Morain and Li Moon, only to see Tails and Tsukki-Nowa take a sip from their tea. "No!" she said screaming in anguish.

"Too late, bitch! He's mine now. He has drunk my special cocktail and now he's mine." Tsukki-Nowa said as she blew a raspberry at Fiona. She then turned to Tails and stroked his cheek with her hand. "And you and I will be really happy together."

"Don't think so!" Tails said casually as he poured his tea in a nearby potted plant. "I hate tea…I pretended to drink it to be polite. And I trust as far as I can toss you." Tails said.

"No! No, no, no, no! I always get what I want, I shouldn't be going through this!" Tsukki-Nowa whined.

"You and your dad are through, Pukey-Nowa!" Tori mocked.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." A voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Trogg, and he was holding the green emerald. "My plans may have been exposed, but I will still create a pure race, and I'll do that by wiping out the impurities right now." Trogg said.

"You know the whole 'creation of a pure race' isn't a good idea, cause if you go that way there will be an eventual case of inbreeding, vulnerability to disease and eventual sterility later on. So your ideals are harmful, not helpful." Tails said.

"Well…I…Oh, what the heck, just die!" Trogg said as his hand and the Chaos Emerald glowed and he fired a big powerful spell that knocked Tails, Fiona, Tori, Errol, Morain and Li Moon out of the room and onto the courtyard.

"Okay, not good, he uses the Emerald to augment his own mystical abilities." Tori stated.

"But he forgets one thing: I'm the kitsune, and I have my friends on my side. Let's get him." Tails said as they attacked;

Trogg charged up energy in his hands and fired it, the heroes scattering to dodge. Tori activates her arm blasters and fires at Trogg, who conjures a shield to protect himself. Li Moon grabs her fan and slashes away at Trogg's shield, but it was only a distraction, as Errol and Morain snuck up on him, ready to strike him down with their swords, but Trogg saw them coming and sent them flying with a lightningbolt. Then Tails flew in and cuts at the shield with his namesakes, and since the attack was Chaos Energy-based it slices through the shield before Tails whacks at Trogg, sending him into a wall.

An angry Tsukki-Nowa advanced on Fiona, her claws and fangs exposed and really angry. She attempts to slice with her claws at Fiona, but she dodges them easily. "You aren't that good, you'd think the daughter of the Lord would get some training or so!" Fiona mocked.

"I have, and I use it to fry you." Tsukki-Nowa said as she fired a lightning spell form her hands, but she missed Fiona, and the latter didn't even move. Tsukki-Nowa had an awkward look on her face. "Well…it has been a while. Well, my daddy will still…"

But Fiona just punches her straight into the face, knocking her out instantly. "Daddy has nothing on me and Tails." Fiona said, glad she finally shut up the annoying brat.

Trogg fired more energy beams at Tails, who just flew in the air to dodge. "I need to get that Emerald away from him. But how…" Tails wondered. He then got an idea. "Wait, if I keep my namesakes stationary but allow myself to spin…" Tails said. Instead of spinning his tails, he spins his body around while the tails spin into place.

"What are you doing…Okay, stop that, I'm getting dizzy…" Trogg said. Indeed, he was getting dizzy and started to walk funny and looked a bit sick. It was then that Fiona moved in and kicked the Emerald out of his hand. "Oh no!" Tails then flew forward and delivers a flying punch that knocked Trogg on his back.

"You lose, Troggie!" Tails said.

"I have lost this round…but you still won't get your parents back because of it." Trogg said smugly.

Tails grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up: "Where are they?"

"I must admit, they were smart and figured me out and I had to put them out of the way. But I couldn't kill them, no they put up a fight, and not even with my most devastating spells I couldn't take them down. So I punished them for eternity…" Trogg stated.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" Tails growled. His eyes started to turn red.

"They are trapped, in a place they'll never be able to escape from. And there is nothing you can do to save them, cause I'll rather die than tell you. If my world can't come to be, the clan can fall as much as I care." Trogg continued to mock.

Tails now became surrounded in a dark aura…just like with the Battle Birds. Tails' sharp toothed grin now came into view. "If you'd rather die…your call." His grip around Trogg's throat tightened as Trogg choked. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of you choking…To think you could properly handle the Emerald's power. You're not worthy of your power." Tails' aura now also engulfed Trogg as Tails drained Trogg of his magic. "Try your little parlor tricks now…" Tails said.

"Tails, you're hurting him." Fiona said. She had hoped never to see that other side of Tails again.

"What's it to you? Oh, that reminds me." Tails said as he moved over to the unconscious Tsukki-Nowa and started draining her too…Tails fur started to get white streaks in them.

"This is not normal isn't it…" Li Moon said scared.

"No…Tails at one point got exposed to some bad mojo, and the bad mojo has been seeking control of him ever since…Tails normally has himself in hand, but when he's really mad…oh boy!" Tori explained.

"We need to help him fight it." Morain said.

"Tails, stop, what would your parents think if they saw you like this?" Fiona asked.

"My…parents?" Tails said, as he briefly regained his senses.

He then started flashing back…first he remembered brief images…two vague shapes, though somehow could tell they were foxes. "Be strong young Miles…Cause we might not be able to protect you now…" He then flashes a little more forward to Jules and Bernie, making funny faces at him, making him laugh…he then flashes forward again to see Sally and Sonic tending to a wound on his knee…

Tails dropped Trogg and Tsukki-Nowa as he was in pain, but the dark aura, red eyes and white fur vanished as Tails barely recomposed himself. "NO…I won't lose myself again…Though I've felt out of place lately…I won't deny that Jules and Bernie, and later Sonic and Sally have been my parents my whole life. Even if I don't find my real parents, I can't turn my back on the ones I've called parents' beliefs." Tails said.

Fiona approached Tails and hugged him tightly. "You're not alone Tails…you never were." Fiona said. Tails returned the hug and cried softly.

Later on, Trogg and Tsukki-Nowa were carried off, powerless, towards the dungeon. "It's not fair, I'm the Princess of Nanashi! I shouldn't be going through this! I'm the princess, you hear me…" Tsukki-Nowa whined.

"Shut up, Tsukki-Nowa!" Trogg said annoyed at his own daughter.

"What will happen to the clan now?" Tails asked Errol.

"We'll probably need to appoint a new leader…I guess you can't fill in the role." Errol replied.

"Nah, I'm a Freedom Fighter, I still have a lot of protection work to do out there…and I was raised as a Freedom Fighter, not a Nanashi…and while I have wondered where I came from, it's still not my home." Tails said.

"We understand, but then who…" Errol wondered.

"Why won't you be the next Lord?" Tails asked.

"What? Me?" Errol said.

"Yeah, you're a natural born leader, I can sense it." Tails said.

"And you were a great help exposing Trogg, so it would make sense if you would take on the role." Fiona added.

"I don't know, what would the other Nanashi think?" Errol asked as he turned to the other Nanashi. The ninja's, including Morain and Li Moon bowed before him.

"I think that's clear." Tori noted.

"I…I feel honored. All right, I'll do it. But there have to be some changes. Trogg has kept us in the dark of the outside world, and that's why we need to change. We won't hide, we will help to save the outside world from other tyrants like, even worse than Trogg. We will no longer be known as Nanashi, the 'Nameless'…no, from now on we'll be known as the Kitsune Clan, in honor of the one who showed us the light." Errol speeched as everyone cheered for him and Tails.

"Here, take the Emerald, it's what you came for right? I'm sorry we couldn't help you find your parents." Errol said as he handed the emerald to Tails.

"It's nothing. I was a bit blind. I wanted to know about my origins so badly I almost forgot how much my foster family meant to me. Even someone as smart as I still can make mistakes. I still want to find out the truth…but I won't let it dominate my life." Tails explained.

"In that case, I can help you with that!" a voice said from behind Tails as the cloaked figure teleported in.

"You…you're the one who led me here, and warned Errol and the others…" Tails said.

"Indeed. I'm sorry I couldn't be more directly of help. But I have been taking orders from higher forces for too long. I don't care if I get screwed for this, I want to help you reunite your family." The cloaked one said.

"But why?" Tails asked.

"Simple…because we are family." The cloaked stranger said as he pulled his hood down and revealed himself to be an elderly fox, the same shade of fur as Tails, blue eyes and having something of a beard, white like his muzzle. "I'm your uncle…Merlin Prower."

TO BE CONTINUED


	67. Tails' Adventure IV

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN: ADVENTURE, TAILS STORY PART IV

Last time, Tails, Fiona and Tori overthrew the secretly Purist leader of the former Nanashi, now Kitsune clan. Now the person who secretly has helped them claims to be the uncle of Tails and appears before them. "My…uncle?" Tails asked surprised.

"He kind of has similarities to you, Tails." Fiona noted.

"Wait, this is a lot to take in…You are my uncle, my father's brother? You are a living relative of mine? You keep me in the dark for all this time and you didn't take me in after my parents dissapeared…WHERE WERE YOU ALL MY LIFE?" Tails said angrily.

"I know you are angry with me…you have perfect reason to. Everything you've been gone through is the fault of the foolish old man you see before you. I won't try to makes excuses, but allow me to explain everything to you…what you should have known years ago." Merlin explained.

Tails still was cross with him, but when Fiona put her hand on his shoulder and said: "Let him speak…he's family after all. You still have yours. Cherish that." That Tails calmed down.

"Explain then." Tails said.

"Thank you…now, where to begin? Let's start with me and your father…We were close, but our life's choices went in different directions. Your father wanted to become an ace pilot…and I must say from what I've seen you inherited that talent of his. My life's choice was in the mystical arts. I searched the world to find the few magic users that were left after the war of Ixis eons ago…" Merlin started to explain.

"Ixis? Sounds like that Naugus guy and his bald right hand man." Tails noted.

"Indeed, and you did an impressive job taking them out, I didn't even had to interfere since you and your friends beat him before I could." Merlin said.

"You watched Tails all the way?" Fiona asked.

"I did…but I'm getting to that. Well, your dad then crash-landed with the Nanashi. There he met your mom. It was love at first sight. Instant chemistry. And thanks to my brother I was able to study with the mystics of the Nanashi…which further crossed the Purists." Merlin said as he then pulled out a picture. "And then you came into the picture."

"Lemme see…" Fiona said as she took the picture and she and Tails looked at it. "Oh Tails, you were so adorable! You still are…but not in the baby kind of way." Fiona said.

"My parents…" Tails said softly. He saw the picture of a brown-furred fox with blue in a pilote's costume, his mother, also brown furred and blue-eyed and brown hair in a kimono, the latter holding him as a baby in her arms. He himself was soundly asleep in the picture.

"Your parents called you a gift from the Walkers. I was made your godfather shortly after. We thought nothing could go wrong…but we didn't count on the Purists." Merlin said. "They ambushed your parents, Trogg leading the attack. Trogg and I fought, and though he was the more skilled magician, I compensated for that by having learned some basic martial skills…and Trogg relied too much on his mystic abilities to physically be any challenge."

"We noticed that…once we were up close he was a laughing stock." Tori said.

"However, Trogg struck back, and he cursed your parents and erased his identity as a Purist from my memory…which would result in him becoming the new Nanashi Lord. Despite his spell, the rest of my memories remained intact. However, I didn't have the knowledge or the right spell to save your parents." Merlin said.

"Cursed…in what way?" Tails asked.

"It's hard to explain. It's a spell I've never seen before and one Nanashi didn't even use. Nor any magic user does. Even Trogg himself didn't know how he did that. It was like he aided by a dark entity. But we'll come back to that later. I turned for the Ancient Walkers for help. They said that the time for your parents to be healed wouldn't come for many years. They also warned me you would be destined for greatness, which I already noticed due to the twin tails of the Trinity. However, they warned me the threat you would face would be greater than that of any other Trinity." Merlin explained.

"It appears that saving the world has become such a common thing that doesn't surprise me at all anymore." Tails said.

"But the hardest decision I had to make came soon afterwards. They said to me to drop you off at a foster family and that only if you would be strong enough to handle the truth, you would be able to be reunited with your parents. I offered to raise you myself, but they forbade me, as they say that if you knew even a glimpse of your background it would distract you from what you're supposed to become. But I've noticed through your heroics, you could have handled the truth much sooner than this. I just hadn't worked up the courage fast enough to go in against the Walkers up until now." Merlin said.

"I'm glad for you even had the balls to go in against the gods themselves in the first place." Tori said flat out.

"But…you said you could reunite me with my parents. How?" Tails asked.

"Simple…with that Emerald of course. Those things turn thought into power, so they should be more then capable to bring your parents back." Merlin explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Please tell me what to do!" Tails asked.

"Just get close to me and I'll teleport us to the right place." Merlin said.

"Okay…" Tails said as he turned to the Kitsune Clan. I want to thank you guys for your hospitality and our help, but now I have a mission to fulfill. So…bye guys!"

"Keep strong Tails. You are meant to do great things." Errol said.

"I will…now, take us away, uncle!" Tails said as Merlin raised his hands, cast a spell and teleported himself, Tails, Fiona and Tori away.

They teleported inside a cave. Though it was made homely with some furniture, and a small library. "You live here?" Tails asked.

"I have a few places like this around the world. After all you and your friends to travel a lot. This is what you might call my Chun-Nan outpost. Now…don't be shocked by how your parents will look now, okay?" Merlin replied. Tails swallowed and nodded.

Merlin led them to the back of the cave, where something stood being covered by a sheet. Merlin pulled it off, and revealed two statues. Which looked exactly like how Tails' mom and dad looked on the picture. "Oh my goodness…are they…" Fiona said.

"It's them. That's what Trogg did to them." Merlin explained.

"The bastard…I should have left him to my dark self." Tails growled.

"Do not think thoughts of revenge, those kind of thoughts feed the demon inside you. Now, with the Emerald I can release them from their imprisonment." Merlin said. Tails reached in his namesakes, where he had hidden the emerald and prepared to hand it to his uncle.

But then something shook up the place, like a small earthquake. "Oh, what now?" Tails asked annoyed. They went outside the cave to take a look. They looked outside and saw that they were still in the same valley they had landed earlier, but a different place. They saw hordes of Fox Fighters with weapons, shooting around the place, breaking pieces of the mountain down or burning some fern.

"Benedict? But how did he find this place?" Tails wondered.

"I don't know, there are some protective charms around this place. He shouldn't be able to know about them unless…no he can't be." Merlin said.

"Can't be what?" Fiona asked.

"Only other Nanashi can know about this place, and while Benedict is a fox, I'm pretty sure he was never part of the Nanashi in the slightest." Merlin said.

"Never mind that, we need to make sure he doesn't ruin this beautiful landscape or endangers the Nanashi." Tails growled.

Tails, Fiona, Tori and Merlin headed down. Tails rushed at the Fox Fighters and sliced them apart with his Tails, Fiona grabbed her daggers and stabbed the Fox Fighters, Tori used her built in weapon systems to blast away at them and Merlin cast several spells to blow them up.

"Nice spellwork, uncle!" Tails said, more lighthearted this time.

"Thanks. I've been studying it my whole life after all." Merlin stated.

While the four had no trouble taking out the footsoldiers, things turned bad when Benedict himself, Shellcracker, Dragonfly and V.I.O.L.E.T. in her robotic body came floating down onto the scene.

"Oh look, there is my dollie! Hi dollie! And you brought the whole family…I should have brought cake…the cake is a lie!" V.I.O.L.E.T. spazzed.

"Well, well, well…I found the two-tailed fox, Fiona, a Chaos Emerald and the Nanashi valley, this might turn out to be a good day." Benedict said in his usual slimy tone.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Tori shouted at him.

"How did you find this place, Benedict?" Tails asked.

"I know quite a lot about the Nanashi, and their protective spells…I used to be married to one." Benedict replied.

"Who in the right mind would marry you?" Fiona said disgusted.

"You would be surprised, Fiona-dear." Benedict said.

"Well, you better turn around and get your ass out of here before we kick it." Tails threatened.

"Sure, why not. I have no use for the Nanashi, already possess their knowledge. That's why I ignored them up until now." Benedict said before he stretched out his arm and snatched the Emerald from Tails. "I got what I came for now. The Nanashi will be dealt with later, but now I got a date with a being you have dubbed 'Chaos'."

"Give that back, I need that to bring my parents back!" Tails said, accidentally flapping out the bit about his parents due to the strain of recent events.

"Oh yes…Amadeus and Rosemary, heard a great deal about them. Would be a shame if that reunion was interrupted…Level this place and once you find anything out of the ordinary, destroy it! Oops, I'm such a stinker!" Benedict said as he dropped off more Fox Fighters as he fled back to his flagship as he let his robotic minions deal with them.

"Fiona, help Merlin protect my parents. Tori, go and contact the Kitsune Clan. They need to know about this. I'll go try to get back the Emerald." Tails said.

"Are you sure you can handle Benedict alone?" Fiona asked.

"I don't need to handle him, I just need to get the Emerald back from him…just do it!" Tails said as he flew off behind Benedict.

"I hope he'll be okay." Fiona said as she pulled out her daggers and started slicing apart some Fox Fighters.

Tails flew behind Benedict, but the Hover Platform warped away. "What? No! I can't lose him now! The Emeralds are my only hope. Wait, he said he had a date with Chaos. If I tap into the creature's signature." Tails said as he pulled out a scanner and entered Chaos' data. "Yes! Now if I track Chaos down, I find Benedict." Tails said as he flew in the direction his scanner took him.

Tails flew as fast as he could, and reached the direction of a city. From the distance he could see flashes of lightning and the sound of fighting. "There is chaos allright, but what kind?" Tails wondered as he flew off in the direction.

When he got near the city, he noticed Sonic and Sally in the distance, and they had been fighting some of Benedict's Fox Legion. They now stood against Benedict and Chaos, who already had two emeralds in his body.

"Benedict…I already got to deal with this crap, don't need you adding to it!" Sonic growled.

"Oh, I won't add much, just two things." Benedict said as he pulled out the green Chaos Emerald he took from Tails earlier, as well as the blue one. Chaos stared at the two things in awe. "Yes, you want these? Robotnik got you one at the time, but I got you two at once!" Benedict said as he threw the Emeralds into Chaos. "Now he's mine!"

Chaos transformed again, this time into a much bigger fish-like form with the blue and green emeralds now encrusted in a pelvis-bone like structure in his tail. "Can no one cut us an slack?" Sonic moaned.

Chaos roared as it created several orbs of lightning in his hands as he tossed it at Sonic, who used his superspeed to dodge them all, but the blasts were much faster than last time so he was having more trouble. "Not good!" Sonic said.

"I'll help you!" Sally said as she pulled Slicer's blade from the scabbard on her back and attached it to her bo staff, turning it into scythe form.

"That's nice Sal, but last time it took two of us to take it down, but now it got another emerald added to it!" Sonic said.

Tails didn't wait and flew up to them: "Then it's good there's more of us!"

"Hey bro! I already wondered when I'd run into you." Sonic greeted them.

"We're glad to see you too. We were hunting down some emeralds, but Benedict beat us to them. I see that thing is the result." Tails said as he pointed at Chaos 4.

"Yeah, but now there's the tree of us, we'll kick it's slimy butt once more!" Sonic said.

"Lead the way, Sonic!" Tails said.

Chaos roared as he now saw he was up against three targets. Despite his fishy form, he slithered really fast, almost like a snake over the ground towards our heroes and lashed with one of his long arms, but the dodged. Tails flew up and performed a homing attack, but Chaos blocked it with his arms, but allowed Sonic to homing attack his back of the head. He was distracted as Sally delivered a vertical cut with her scythe that damaged his liquid shell and exposed the brain, which Tails homed in to.

Chaos roared as he melted before he reformed, looking really pissed. He raised his arms as some water from a nearby pond rose up and washed over the street. Tails picked up Sally and Sonic as the flood missed them. He then tossed both at Chaos, Sonic homed in, but Chaos swatted him with his massive arms, but Sonic recovered, climbed and ran up his arm and homed in on the head, dazing him as Sally kicked with her booted foot in the exposed brain.

Chaos melted again and reformed, now on its last legs. But that means he was more pissed then before. He roared as he raised his arms again and lightning raised from the sky. The heroes scattered to dodge the blasts, Tails looking especially frightened by the lightning bolts that came down! Sally took the blade of her scythe and planted it into the ground, redirecting the lightning.

Then the three rushed towards Chaos, who stretched out his arms to attack, but Sally slashes the arms of using the blade, as Tails flies forward with his tails in a drill-like formation as he thrusts through the liquid body, dispersing most of the water as the brain was once again and exposed and Sonic homed in on it, and Chaos melted once again into a puddle, defeated as it slithered away.

"Darn it! Why don't you just die already? No matter, I'll get the remaining emeralds and then even you won't be able to stop him! But for now I'll be taking my leave. My Legion shall cover my escape." Benedict said as he took his leave.

"I'll go after him, you concentrate on finding Chaos okay?" Tails said as he rushed off.

"Hey Tails, why the rush? And where are Fiona and Tori? And why are you after Bene-dick?" Sally asked.

"Fi and Tori are dealing with some of Benedict's henchmen elsewhere…listen, got no time, I explain later! Ciao!" Tails said as he flew off. He hated leaving Sonic and Sally into the dark, but he really needed to get those Emeralds back and fast. He needed his parents back…

TO BE CONTINUED…


	68. Tails' Adventure V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT: ADVENTURE, TAILS STORY PART V

Fiona and Merlin were holding off the herds of Fox Fighters. Fiona slashed the head off one of the Fox Fighters, then stabbed another before she tossed the Fox Fighter she impaled into another. Two more appear from the sides and tried closing her in, but Fiona jumped up and did a spread spin-kick, knocking them both to the ground.

Merlin concentrated as he delivered some devastating spells. He waved his right hand as a gust of wind blew a first group of Fox Fighters into a wall, shattering them. A second spell made the ground under them collapse as they fell into the ground. A third spell made lightning bolts rain from the sky and take them out.

But still the Fox Fighters kept coming. "Why do bad guys always have unlimited supplies of footsoldiers?" Fiona moaned.

However, she then found several Fox Fighters impaled with shuriken as they sparked and fell down. Fiona turned around and saw Tori with a group of Kitsune Clan fighters. "I brought the cavalry in!" Tori said excited. She morphed her hands into blasters as she fired away at the Fox fighters.

"Never thought you'd need our services so quickly…but allow us to fight beside you." Errol said as he pulled out his sword and cut several Fox Fighters diagonally in two. "So that's what a machine looks like on the inside…"

Li Moon also used her razor sharp war fan to slice the Fox Fighters in half, before tossing the fan as a boomerang, beheading some Fox Fighters in the progress before it returned to her. "Where is Tails actually?" Li Moon asked.

"Going after their big boss." Fiona answered.

"I wonder how the master of these machines found us?" Morain wondered. She stabbed a Fox Fighter that tried to sneak up on her before she gave two horizontal slashes to another one, chopping it in three.

"I dunno, Benedict said he used to be married to one of yours. Haven't heard anything about it?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know. Maybe an elder member of the clan knows." Morain answered.

"DOLLIE!" a distorded female voice said as Fiona was tackled to the ground by anoter machine, V.I.O.L.E.T. to be exact. "I promised you tea party…of doom! One or two lumps of sugar? Or would you rather have cream?"

"Here are your lumps!" Fiona said as she kicked V.I.O.L.E.T. of her. "And have some cream too!" Fiona said as she stabbed one of V.I.O.L.E.T. spider-like legs and disabled it. She let out an inhuman eerie scream, which gave Fiona the chills.

"Glory to the great Benedict." Shellcracker roared as he attacked Tori. He shot his claw out like a grappling hook, but Tori dodged. She then struck Shellcracker with her arm blasters, knocking him back slightly. "Resistance is futile, the great Benedict is going to be victorious in the end!"

"If you like him so much, why don't you marry him? Okay, that gives me disturbing images." Tori said as she sported blades on her arms and rushed at Shellcracker as she lashed with her claws, as Shellcracker blocked with his own. Shellcracker shot fire out of his big claw. Tori ducked under it. Tori then morphed in vehicle mode. "Time for you to take a ride." She rushed forward, knocking Shellcracker into her seat before she rushed forward at high speed and braked suddenly, sending Shellcracker flying forward into a wall. "That's why you always need to wear a seatbelt."

Dragonfly had detached his wings and used them as two double-blades to fend off the blows from Errol and Morain's swords as well as Li Moon's fan. Errol struck first, Dragonfly blocking his sword, Morain attacks from another side, Dragonfly using the second weapon to block. Li Moon moved in as he pushed Errol and Morain aside and then blocked Li Moon's fan with the first twin blade, then used both sides of his other twin blade to block the sword swipes of the Blackthorn siblings.

During the fight between the Fox Fighters and the Kitsune Clan, one of the Fox Fighter's stray shots hits part of the rock wall and makes some rocks fall down as if an avalanche, looming over V.I.O.L.E.T. and Fiona of all people. Something odd happened in the progress. V.I.O.L.E.T. pinned Fiona down to the ground and covered her with her mechanical body as if to protect her, while Dragonfly flew up to the rocks and sliced them apart, and fall harmlessly away from Fiona and V.I.O.L.E.T.

"What do you think you're doing?" Fiona wondered.

"I…I…I don't know. It felt…right somehow. But I shouldn't do 'right'. It makes no sense. I shouldn't making sense at all." V.I.O.L.E.T. said, not in her insane and illogical tone this time, but a more humane sounding tone.

"Me neither…I didn't know why I did that." Dragonfly said. Dragonfly was normally reduced to a mostly mindless minion that didn't speak unless spoken to.

"You are not the same Dragonfly I used to fight in my early days as a Freedom Fighter. Yet you look the same, and one can argue you are merely reprogrammed…This behavior is unusual for you. Even as Buzzbomber you were supposed to be evil despite your initial stupidness." Fiona stated.

"Can be…I don't remember anything from when I served Eggman. I have memories, so vague. But they don't involve Eggman. Yet you are familiar. I don't understand myself." Dragonfly said. The look in his eyes didn't show him as a machine, but more…Mobian somehow. And it wasn't like with Slicer, no it was someone else was watching her through those optics then Dragonfly.

Same with V.I.O.L.E.T. the machine was illogical, insane, even cruel yet she tried protecting her from the incoming rubble. It was like with Dragonfly, someone else watched her from behind that optic, and it was like V.I.O.L.E.T. wasn't there anymore for the moment. That was cut short however when Dragonfly and V.I.O.L.E.T. sparked and the look in their optics switched back to respectively mindless minion and insane henchwoman/bot. "I'm back!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

"So am I!" a voice said as Tails flew in, swooped down and knocked both of them on their backs before landing next to Fiona.

"Tailsy! Weren't you after Benedict?" Fiona asked.

"I lost him. But now I can at least help out here." Tails said.

"We're out of Fox Fighters, I suggest retreat." Dragonfly stated.

"Too bad, party's over. Next time maybe. Then we'll do the limbo…bo…bo…Boring!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said as she, Dragonfly and Shellcracker left, with what remained of the Fox Fighters, who were largely defeated by the Kitsune Clan, vanishing in a flash of light, teleporting.

"Damn, they got away too! Now we'll never get the Emeralds." Fiona groaned.

"No, we're not. I put a tracker on them when I knocked them down." Tails then pulled out a scanner. "And now my tracker has breached the protective force field of the ship…yep, there is another Chaos Emerald on Benedict's ship and that's where we're going." Tails said.

"Then I guess I have to go back to plane form so we can bust in!" Tori suggested.

"Indeed…And we won't let Benedict slip away this time." Tails said, sure of himself.

"Unfortunately, there is only room for two so…you can't come with us in the plane Mr. Merlin, and I don't know if you can teleport far distances…" Fiona stated.

"I can only teleport to places I've seen. So no I can't teleport myself on the airship. So I guess I'll have to stay behind and help clean up the mess here. You're going to be fine?" Merlin asked.

"I've been fighting guys like Benedict since I was little, so I'm not afraid. I will get that Emerald to get mom and dad back, I promise." Tails said.

"In that case, be safe my nephew." Merlin said.

Later on, Tails and Fiona had boarded Tori's plane form. On the way Fiona had explained about V.I.O.L.E.T. and Dragonfly's odd behavior. "Really odd indeed. Can it be a glitch in their programming?" Tails wondered.

"Buzzbomber being an idiot was a glitch, Crabmeat being a backstabber was a glitch, but saving me is not something that would ever be programmed by Eggman, Robotnik or Benedect, on purpose or not." Fiona said.

"We have no time to worry, we approach the Vulpin right now, and there is an emerald inside waiting for us." Tails said.

The giant flagship became visible in the distance. But from the flagship, Tails became visible on Benedict's radar. "Now what's this? That signature…that's the signature of that two-tailed fox. Oh, he thinks he can just fly in here? Well, he is wrong." Benedict said.

"Oh, too bad! The contestant won't be winning a car today, stay tuned tomorrow for another exciting episode of Wheel of Fortune!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said spastically before she made a 'ding'-sound.

"Shut up and activate those defense programs already!" Benedict said annoyed. Immediately, the turrets of the Vulpin were aimed at the Tornado.

"Incoming!" Tori said as Tails' piloting skills had to kick in, moving from left to right to avoid the bullets, as well as barrel-rolling to avoid some incoming fire.

"Well…we knew wouldn't get on unnoticed." Tails stated. He then pushed a button and several turrets on Tori became visible as well. "Then we better make sure they notice us!" Tails and Tori started firing away back at Benedict's ship and though the ship itself wasn't scratched, some of the defense turrets were blown off.

"Dang it! The kid's a pretty good pilot. But not if I launch the heatseekers." Benedict said.

Several missiles were fired at him. Tails avoided them but the missiles turned around and aimed themselves at him again. "Activate heat signature cloaking." Tails said as he flipped a switch. Their bodyheats were now cloaked and the missiles missed them completely. "Now you again, Bene-dick!"

"Gr…the kid has thought of anything. Except my secret weapon." Benedict said. One turret fired several discs. These discs turned invisible and attached to Tails' ship. "Now I got you!" Benedict said as he detonated them.

The Tornado was shaken by the explosion and was losing altitude. "Everyone bail, turn to Extreme Gear, Tori switch to your other body!" Tails warned. They ejected, pulled out their hoverboards and boarded them, while Tori transferred her consciousness from her plane form to her transforming hovercraft body, which in the humanoid form had a jetpack. They already got close enough to Benedict's ship before being shot down, so they only had to fly a short end before entering the deck.

"So they made it…impressive." Benedict said as he then looked at the radar. "Oh, another one, trying to enter…never mind, V.I.O.L.E.T., you keep this other air vehicle of my back, I'm going to deal with those two myself." Benedict said as he got out of his chair and made off to the deck.

Tails, Fiona and Tori now were on the deck of Benedict's airship. "So, we managed to get on. But we're far from safe." Tails stated.

"You got that right, two-tailed freak." Benedict's voice sounded. On the deck of the ship, he appeared in a giant mecha with four long legs. "Meet the Arachnis Maximus. My newest creation. And I'll use it to destroy you." Benedict said.

"You know, I have this feeling you don't really like me…" Tails said sarcastically.

"Joke while you can, cause I'll extinguish your flame of life…" Benedict said as he was interrupted by a call from V.I.O.L.E.T. "Now what is it? I'm in the middle of this dramatic speech." he asked.

"I couldn't stop the other intruders from entering." V.I.O.L.E.T. said ashamed.

"Then destroy them! You have control of the defense system, you air-headed program." He said as he cut of the communications. "Now where we? Oh whatever, I'll just destroy the lot of you." Benedict said.

He fired some missiles from the Arachnis Maximus, but the heroes dodged them all and only succeeded in blowing holes in the deck. The machine then swipes with his long legs, Tails ducking right under them, but Fiona was not so lucky ans was caught into one of its claws. "Let me go!" Fiona growled.

"Oh no, I have so much plans for you…" Benedict said evilly.

"What is your strange fixation with me?" Fiona asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." Benedict said. However, Tori came in and cut Fiona loose by slicing the claw with her arm blades.

"Don't forget about me, Bene-dick!" Tori said before she aimed her arm blasters at him and fired, knocking the mecha back slightly.

"And me!" Tails said as he curled up into a ball and homing attacked the mecha, something he picked up from Sonic.

"Those tricks won't work against my wonderful machine." Benedict said. The Machine lashed again with one of his claws, but Tails cut it loose with one of his namesakes.

Tails then picks up the claw he cut off and lifted it up. "Hey, I think this belongs to you!" he said as he tossed the claw back at the mecha, impaling the mecha. Tails then homed in on the claw, pushing it in further, making the mecha spark.

Benedict bailed as he jumped out of the mecha, growling in anger. "Fine then, I prefer hand to hand combat anyway." He said as he took a battle stance.

Fiona was the first to rush forward and tried to stab Benedict with his daggers, but Benedict grabbed her wrists and twists her arm painfully. "So sloppy…being with the Freedom Fighters has made you soft…you would have turned out much better if you have never met Tails." Benedict said.

"One: What went on in my life if none of your beeswax. Second: I haven't gone soft!" Fiona said as she kicked Benedict in the nuts and then slices his wrist with her other dagger.

Benedict roared in pain, but his would healed instantly due to his abilities. "What does on in your life is my concern, I've set it all out for you…I just didn't count on him." Benedict said, pointing at Tails, who rushed at him. But Benedict grabbed him by the throat. "He ruined it all."

"What are you talking about?" Fiona asked confused.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Benedict said, tossing Tails into Fiona. Tori then came in and tried to slice up Benedict with her arms blades, but Benedict dodged and then claws at Tori's chest with his mechanical hand, Tori holding it as if in pain. "I have nothing to say to you…you're just a mechanical servant to them, so you do as you're programmed."

"I may be an AI, but no one tells me what to do. I help them cause they're my friends." Tori said as she recovered and punched Benedict in the face.

Then Tails flew in and whacked Benedict's head with his tails. Though when he tried to do so again, Benedict grabs him by the tails and tosses him into the ground, before planting his foot on his chest, pinning him down. Fiona attempts to kick at him, but he catches her foot in his hand. And while Tori tried punching him, he catches her fist in his mechanical hand and starts crushing it.

"Are you trying to make it easy for me?" Benedict asked.

"If we say we do, to lure you in a false sense of security, would you believe us?" Tails said.

"No." Benedict said. It was then that Tails cuts at Benedict's legs with his tail. Then Fiona kicks Benedict with her other foot, and while Benedict lets go of her other foot, Fiona does a backwards flip and lands back on her feet. Tori then pushes a button on her arm and Benedict is shocked and lets her go too. "Okay…you are more skilled then I thought."

It was then that his communicator in his arm went off. "Not now V.I.O.L.E.T., I'm in the middle of something."

"But the intruders I tried to eradicate on your orders earlier…they managed to hack the ship and now we're going to ram Robotnik's Swat Carrier!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said in panic.

"Try to regain control." Benedict moaned.

"I can't…if I try to do so, I leave myself open so they can drain more information for me and that's no good. I suggest we evacuate." V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

Benedict groaned in anger as he shut down the channel. "You're lucky this time…but you haven't seen the last of me." Benedict said as he summons his hover platform and boards it. V.I.O.L.E.T. and the other Generals had already left.

"We better get out too…the Emeralds can't be destroyed so we can recover it from the wreckage later." Tails said as he, Fiona and Tori boarded their Extreme Gear and left.

Soon after they saw Robotnik's ship collide with Benedicts, seeing how both go up in flames and go down.

"I wonder who the one was who took Benedict's ship under control…and I wonder why Robotnik's ship didn't make an attempt to avoid the ship. Unless someone has messed up the controls of that ship too…I have a feeling Sonic and Sally might be behind it." Tails noted.

They saw the burning wreckage falling down to the ground. "Shall we recover that Emerald from the rubble then?" Fiona suggested. They then flew down in the direction of the rubble.

"You know, Benedict seems to have a strange obsession with you." Tails noted.

"I know, and it disturbs me. He even said he sent my life in the good direction or something…has he been studying me all my life or something?" Fiona asked.

"Like a bug in a jar…creepy!" Tori noted.

"We'll discuss it later, I see the wreckage." Tails said as he saw the wreckage in the jungle, having crashed in the river. "My scanner shows the Emerald is still in there."

"Then let's go get it!" Tori said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	69. Tails' Adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE: ADVENTURE, TAILS STORY PART VI

Merlin waited around in his cave, walking from the left to the right over and over, looking over the statues of Rosemary and Amedeus. "They take so long…I know it's not an easy task but I can't help but worry…" Merlin muttered to himself.

It was then that Tails, Fiona and Tori came in, the red emerald in Tails' hand. "I'm back, uncle Merlin. And I have the Emerald…not exactly the Emerald we had first, but this one will do as well." Tails said.

"That's great. Now we only have to use my magic and the emerald to break the curse." Merlin said as he took the Emerald. "Stand back, this is going to be intense." Merlin warned them. Tails, Tori and Fiona took a few steps back.

Merlin held the red Emerald in his hands and held him up as he started chanting the spell: "Doolb dna hself ot kcab meht nrut, enots fo mrof eht ni desruc esoht." He kept repeating the chant over and over, as a strong wind blew through the cave and the Emerald let out a bright light. The heroes had to cover their eyes as the light washed through the cave.

When the light died down, our heroes opened their eyes, Merlin lay out unconscious on the floor. "Mr. Merlin, you okay?" Fiona asked.

They helped Merlin up, who regained consciousness. "I'm fine, the spell took a lot out of me…did it work?" Merlin asked.

They looked at where the statues stood earlier, but now there were two limp forms on the ground. They slowly stirred awake, and got up. They got up, the two looking like the same two persons from the picture…these were Rosemary and Amadeus Prower. "Huh? Where are we? Where is that bastard of a Trogg?" Amedeus asked confused.

"Where is Miles?" Rosemary asked worried, looking around her.

"Right here…" Tails said awkwardly, drawing the attention of both. They looked surprised at him. "Hi mom…hi dad…" he said softly.

"Oh my Walkers…is it really…how long were we gone?" Amadeus asked.

"Too long if you ask me…I can't believe it, my little Miles…all grown up. And I wasn't there to see it." Rosemary said as she was overcome with emotions and then pulled Tails into a hug, Amadeus joining him. "I'm sorry, Miles…I'm so sorry."

"My son…I can't believe it!" Amadeus added.

"You're here now, that's what matters." Tails said.

"Don't you forget about me?" Merlin said, having recovered a bit from the spell he had to perform.

"Merlin? Is that you? Oh brother, I'm so glad to see you…the years haven't been kind to you." Amadeus said when he noticed how old and tired Merlin looked for his age.

"Yeah, but the years were harsh since you've been cursed by Trogg…" Merlin explained.

"I can't believe this…what has happened in all those years? How much did we miss involving our little Miles? What has happened to Trogg, and the Nanashi…" he then noticed Fiona and Tori. "And who are they?"

"You better sit down and relax, we have a lot to tell you." Tails said to his parents.

And so Tails had began explaining: how he ended up with the Hedgehog family, when Eggman started to conquer the world, his life as a Freedom Fighter, how they fought he rule of Eggman…how they destroyed the Death Egg twice, how Robotnik and Benedict rose up to start a second war, and their adventure involving Chaos and later the rechristened Kitsune Clan.

"Oh my…that's a lot. And you have gone through that all?" Rosemary asked worried.

"I wasn't alone. I had my friends by my side." Tails said.

"But still…you had to fight in two wars and against the rule of Trogg, and we weren't there. I'm a horrible mother!" Rosemary said, being emotional.

"You're not, it's just that fate decided to be cruel on you." Merlin assured her.

"Still…Rosemary and I would have loved to see it happen: Miles' first steps, first words, first flight, first day of school…but we were denied all of them. It makes me want to make Trogg pay for what he did." Amadeus said angrily.

"I already made sure of that, he's powerless, locked in his own dungeon. There he can stay for the rest of his life." Tails said.

"That you fought and defeated the likes of Trogg…my son has become a hero. I'm honestly surprised he has come this far at such a young age." Amadeus muttered.

"Believe me, it's not over yet, the world is still at war, and there is a lot to be done. But for now, I'm glad that after all this time I see you again." Tails said.

"This time, we will do our best to be there for you, Miles. We really need to make up for lost time." Rosemary said.

"Mom…dad…please call me Tails." Tails insisted.

"Sure thing…Tails." Amadeus said. They then turned their attention to Fiona. "What I'm the most happy for is that you haven't been alone. You had someone to watch your back, to stay at your side all this time…just like with me and your mother. So miss Fiona, thanks for being there for my son."

"Don't worry Mr. and Ms. Prower, I won't let anything happen to my man. He's been there for me, and I'm here for him." Fiona assured them.

"Er…since I'm made by Tails, doesn't that make you kind of my grandparents?" Tori asked.

"We're willing to see you as family if you don't call us grannie or gramps, we already feel old enough now we lost ten years of our lives." Rosemary joked.

"So brother, haven't you settled down yet? You had ten years time…" Amadeus asked.

"I'm afraid not, my duties as an agent of the Walkers have prevented me, and all my free time went to watching Tails from a distance or trying to find a counter-curse. I hope you're not mad for taking care of Tails…for being a coward in the face of the Walkers." Merlin said.

"Why would we be mad? You knew raising Tails yourself would put him more at risk, so instead you sought him a nice family for him to live. And you eventually saved us and have helped him even without him knowing. I shouldn't be mad, brother." Amadeus said.

"That reminds me…I want to see how the Nanashi…pardon me, Kitsune Clan is doing now. I want to see how much of it is as I remember." Rosemary said.

"Well…thanks to Tails here everything is more like you remember, but you might want to take a look as well…you have to go on foot, cause I'm a bit out of energy after that spell." Merlin suggested.

Later on, the Prower family would go to see the Kitsune clan again. Once they arrived in the garden, they were greeted by their friends Errol, Morain and Li Moon. "Ah Tails, good to see you. I guess you mission to retrieve the Emerald was a success?" Errol greeted.

"It certainly was. I'd like you to meet my parents." Tails said as he introduced Rosemary and Amadeus to him.

"Nice meeting you…you are highly spoken of by fellow Kitsune clan members. I was only a toddler when you still were around so I barely remember you, except the stories my dad told me." Errol greeted.

"Tails told us how you helped him, nice to see the clan is in good hands." Rosemary said.

"Have you ever thought of taking back the title of Bride, Ms. Prower, originally Lady Rao had appointed you." Li Moon asked.

"Nah, I'm ten years behind on things, besides I'm spending my time with my own family now…I think I'll be more of use at Knothole." Rosemary said.

"Would you at least stay for the feast, to celebrate a good end to all things?" Morain asked.

"I haven't eaten in ten years, of course we stay." Amadeus joked.

"I hope they still make those tasty rice buns." Rosemary said.

"They do!" Tails assured her. Before they headed towards the palace however, Tails asked one more question to ask: do you know something about a fellow Nanashi having ever left or married someone by the name of Benedict?"

"Er…it has been a while. I remember someone named Violet, a close friend of mine. She vanished one day…never known why she left." Rosemary said.

"My mom was called Violet. But it can't be the same can it? My father was André Fox. Not Benedict I'm sure." Fiona stated.

"I had an aunt named Violet. My mom told me about her…" Li Moon said.

"That can't be my mom, my mother would never marry a creep like Benedict, would she?" Fiona wondered.

"I wouldn't see the Violet I knew do that either." Amadeus stated.

"Isn't Benedict's henchwoman called V.I.O.L.E.T.? Could be named after one of them. Is too much of a coincidence…" Tori stated.

"I'd rather not talk about it, it's getting awkward. We're having a feast after all. Let's not have that ruin the mood, okay?" Fiona asked.

"You're right, let's celebrate!" Tails said.

Meanwhile, Benedict was tuning up V.I.O.L.E.T. and Dragonfly. "I did a good thing checking out your hard-drives, and I found out about the brief 'lapses' you had. I should have used different sparks for the likes of you, but you would be mindless then, and then you'd be as predictable and dull as the average Fox Fighter, which I don't like. I need Mobian instinct and insight…I just hope this one will suppress your previous selves better. After all…those are supposed to be dead." Benedict said.

V.I.O.L.E.T. started to sing: "Ring around the rosie, pocket full of posie, a-tichoo, a-tichoo, we all fall down…" V.I.O.L.E.T. then sparked briefly as she said, back in the more humane voice: "You just couldn't leave my life could you, I just wanted you to leave me alone…" before she fell back in her insane self: "And you'll never walk alone! Another couplet!"

Dragonfly sparked briefly too as he said: "Blood is not that thick Benedict. You leave Fiona alone, I don't care if you are her real…" before he sparked again and became the obedient drone again: "Systems seem okay now, boss."

"Excellent. I hope that this will hold you down now."

Later on, after the feast, the Prower family wanted to make their way to Knothole, but first they had to track the whereabouts of the remaining emeralds. They had tracked them down, and were glad to see their friends: Knuckles, Amy, Lily, Nicole, Dulcy, Antoine and a robot they didn't know.

"Hey guys!" Tails greeted them.

"Tails, already wondered what you were up to. I see you made a few new friends. Care to introduce them to us?" Amy said.

"I would love to, but…aren't Sally and Sonic here either? They also need to know." Tails said.

"No, they went after Elise after they snagged an Emerald…I hope they managed to get it back." Knuckles said.

"Then let's keep them and see if they react." Tails said as he grabbed his communicator. He then noticed Nicole's new form. "Nicole, what are you actually doing outside the city?"

"I had a mission…listen, I was looking for a way to help Bunnie, and I knew where to find it but…I'll explain when we compare notes, okay?" Nicole said.

"Fair enough." Tails said as he got Sonic and Sally's signal. "Hey guys, Tails here! I just met up with the others and they told me how you went after Robotnik." Tails said.

"We did and we blew his toys and his factory to kingdom come. So what have you been up to?" Sonic asked.

"Well, being a pain in Benedict's ass, and I found someone I'd like you to meet…let's just keep it a surprise, everyone just has to gather and compare notes. Nicole has especially some good stories to tell." Tails answered.

"Nicole is there too? I thought she was supposed to stay at Knothole!" Sally said.

"She'll explain later! Now are you coming or not?" Tails asked.

"Be there in just a sec, bro!" Sonic said as they put their communicators away.

"I really think we have a lot to tell each other." Tails said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	70. Knuckles' Adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY: ADVENTURE, KNUCKLES' STORY PART I

Knuckles and the Chaotix just had began cleaning up the island again…robotic rubble everywhere. The day of Benedict's and Robotnik's rise, his island was under attack as well, but Robotnik didn't know about Knuckles having gained help from the Chaotix. So the robotic forces that were send that could have handled Knuckles, found themselves overpowered by the entire Chaotix group. Later on Knuckles had been informed by the Freedom Fighters of the crisis. Now Knuckles and the Chaotix did their best to protect the island.

"Okay, these turrets should be good enough to hold off the aerial assaults. They only need a test run now." Heavy said as he tuned up some weaponry. Bomb beeped. "Good question, what do we use for target? We can't just shoot innocent birds." Heavy asked.

"I'll just toss these rocks up and you aim." Knuckles suggested.

"Good idea, let it rip!" Heavy said as he took position behind the turret. Knuckles, using great strength and fitness tossed two rocks up. Heavy shot one of them, but missed the other. "It still needs some fine-tuning, the first time I aimed at the left rock but hit the right one." Heavy stated. Bomb beeped. "No, it's not because I'm a terrible aim!" Heavy shot at Bomb.

"I still think the best way to fight a foe is with these!" Mighty said as he held out his fists.

"Yeah, but unless you can fly you can't do much against airships or flying foes." Espio stated.

"If only we had superpowers like Captain Tornado…okay, Knuckles and Mighty are strong sure, but Captain Tornado could juggle planets or clap his hands to create a new sun!" Charmy said.

"Sometimes dreams will remain dreams, Charmy. But we don't have time to think about fictional characters, no we have to think about the war going on and to think how we can do our part in ending it." Vector said.

"A-a-at this moment I'd really w-w-wish we could juggle planets." Ray said nervously.

Knuckles knew they Chaotix were skilled…but they have also have suffered because of the war, having lost families and friends. And to see this war start anew. Knuckles had more responsibilities since he became leader of the Chaotix. Not only he needed to watch the island, but his friends as well. They could take care of themselves, sure, but he had to make sure they wouldn't get hurt…after all war had it's casualties.

Knuckles hadn't really be in a war…or not he remembered. But the thought of war left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Was he involved in a war at one point? Before meeting the Freedom Fighters I mean. But one thing Knuckles knew for sure, no one would be taken by this war on his watch…watching, waiting, guarding. It has been his whole life. It's all he knew, he remembered and that's what he did. It felt right somehow…

However, Knuckles would soon be snapped from his daydream when Heavy warned him: "Uh-oh, the scanners pick up some invading forces from two sides…and I haven't had time to test out if the tune-up on the turrets have helped yet." Heavy said panicky.

"No matter, we have no choice but to use them. Okay, Heavy, Bomb, Ray and Mighty, you take the north side. Me, Charmy, Espio and Vector the other. Shoot as many as you can out of the sky and if they set foot on land, just pound the hell out of them. Chaotix go!" Knuckles said, being the leader he was.

Each Chaotix was given a remote to control the turrets that were placed across the islands to fend of invading forces. Both Benedict's and Robotnik's flagships floated near the island, unleashing Fox Fighters and Swatbots that piloted flying air vehicles. The turrets fired away at the robots, blasting them apart. Though the turrets weren't that accurate, they still managed to make eighty percents of their hits land.

However, a lot still managed to land on the island and start the assault on foot. "Dang it…Heavy, Bomb, Ray, Charmy, continue the work on the turrets, rest of you help me stop the invaders on land." Knuckles said to his crew. Espio, Vector, Mighty and Knuckles then would attack the robotic minions head-on.

Knuckles didn't waste time and used his namesakes to instantly break apart a bunch of Swatbots and Fox Fighters. He picked up a Swatbot and used it as a flail to clobber some other robots, until there was not much of the Swatbot itself to use to clobber. Then he pounded the ground, creating a small quake that knocked the Swatbots and Fox Fighters off-balance.

Mighty was taking out robots by the dozens. He curled up in a ball and rolled at the robots. Any laser blast bounced of his shell as he bowled over them, scrapping them. He then merely used the back of his hand to send several robots flying over the horizon. He then punched a Swatbot, knocking it into a group of others and due to the force of the punch the entire group was instantly scrapped.

Vector grabbed his golden chain from his neck and used it to tie up a Swatbot. He then swings the Swatbot around in a circle, knocking over several other Swatbots and Fox Fighters before he lets him go and flying over the horizon. Vector then grabs his headphones and blasts the robots away with a sonic wave. He then runs up to a swatbot and bites his head clean off with his jaws.

Espio tossed his shuriken with deadly precision, taking them down with one each. Several Swatbots fired away at Espio, but when the smoke cleared they only found a straw puppet. This classic ninja trick threw them off guard as Espio jumped from the trees and used his knife as melee weapons and cut them up to bits.

"Knuckles, some of the robots are making their way to the Emerald chamber, we can't hold them off since we're busy with the air forces." Heavy warned them.

"You three can hold off these robots while I go to the Emerald chamber?" Knuckles asked.

"No problem boss, these small fries can't hurt us if they wanted to…and what do you think they've been trying to do up until now?" Vector assured him.

"Okay then. Good luck!" Knuckles said as he headed to the Emerald chamber, where the Master Emerald himself was located. Though there were some security around them as well, Knuckles had to make sure.

As he arrived he saw some laser traps frying some Swatbots or some trap doors making them fall into a spike pit, but these wouldn't hold them off forever, so he made his way the Master Emerald and would just beat up anything stupid enough to get close.

Of course the Swatbots and Fox Fighters were no match for him. But he got more then he'd bargained for. He barely dodges something hand-like on a cable shooting at him like a grappling hook. He looked at the owner, Robotnik himself, Eggman's new form as he retracted his hand. "Eggman…you're uglier than before. Try to steal the Master Emerald again? Well I won't let you." Knuckles said.

"That's Robotnik to you. And try to protect your precious giant gemstone, I'll get it anyway, I always get what I want." Robotnik said as he fired his hand again, Knuckles dodges, and saw how the hand instead hit some moss off the chamber, turning it in a metallic liquid that dripped off the walls due to the roboticizing powers.

The liquid attacked Knuckles and wrapped himself around it, but then Knuckles glowed, as did the Master Emerald as a huge surge of power empowered Knuckles and vaporized the roboticized moss. "I'm the guardian of the Emerald, I can tap into its power, you can't defeat me in here."

"Let's see about that." Robotnik said as he fired lasers from his optics, Knuckles dodging aside. Robotnik then inhaled deeply and then shot an energy orb out his mouth, this time hitting Knuckles and knocking him back. But Knuckles recovered and punched the ground, shaking the earth below Robotnik and making him loose balance.

While the two fought, someone else snuck closer to the Master Emerald. "While the cat's away…or at least busy, the mice will play." Benedict said as he approached the huge green gemstone. However, Benedict soon found himself being punched in the face by Knuckles.

"I don't know who you are, but you're not getting the Emerald either." Knuckles growled.

"That's that phony of a Benedict Fox, and he's not getting the Emerald indeed, cause I'll have it instead." Robotnik said.

"On the contraire, I'm taking the Emerald, and you two better move out of the way, before I get mad. You don't want that to happen." Benedict said.

"Oh, no you won't! You'll spend the rest of your days as my loyal robotic slave!" Robotnik said as he stretched out his hand towards Benedict, but to his surprise he found that his roboticizing touch had no effect on him.

"Is that supposed to do something?" Benedict asked amused.

"How did you…" Robotnik asked surprised.

"You wanna hear? In that case…I'm not telling!" Benedict mocked.

They both nearly have seem to have forgotten Knuckles, as he rushed at Benedict and tried to punch him again, but he backhanded Knuckles and sent him into wall. But then Robotnik punched Benedict with a stretch punch, before he tried to grab Knuckles with his other hand, but Knuckles got up, jumped over the punch and retaliated by delivering a powerful kick to Robotnik's face, knocking him over.

Benedict tried to punch Knuckles, who jumped aside, as Benedict missed and hit the ground, creating a huge imprint of his fist in the floor. He then tried to kick Knuckles, who leaned back, grabbed his foot and tossed him into a wall. Then Robotnik hits Knuckles with his eye beams and knocked him back. He tries to touch Knuckles again, but he digs underground and avoids Robotnik, who then gets rammed by Benedict who slams him into a wall with his shoulder. Knuckles pops from the ground and punches both as he got up.

Both growled in anger as they both aimed their arm cannons at Knuckles and tried to fire at him. Knuckles dodged their laser blasts by running across the room. But then they turned towards the Master Emerald. "Oh, almost forgot about that." They said as they both fired at the Emerald, shattering it.

"NO!" Knuckles said as suddenly the entire room was engulfed into a bright green light, and Knuckles found himself blacking out…

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back on the surface of Angel Island…or at least it looked like it, but the ruins he remembered were intact. He also saw the Master Emerald on the surface in a shrine, not underground. Not to mention, the Chaos Emeralds were on top of pillars around the shrine. "How did…" he said as he walked towards the Master Emerald and tried touching it, but his hand went right through it. "Okay…this is weird. Am I a ghost?" he wondered.

He looked down from the shrine and to his surprise, he found an entire village of echidna's, in shades of red, pink, purple and orange, sometimes with white stripes on the dreads, all around the place. "My people… can it be?" he wondered. He went down and tried talking to them. "Hey ma'am, can I ask you something?" he said to a female echidna, but she didn't hear him. He reached out to her but his hand went through her as well. "Double freaky. This starts to sound more and more like one of Charmy's ridiculous comic book plots…that or I shouldn't have tasted Vector's surprise casserole." Knuckles noted.

He looked around the place and saw various echidna's from various ages do stuff like shopping, buying food, or do all day things like walking with the kids, do their jobs (he saw a blacksmith and a tailor for example). It was a nice looking society. But his real surprise came when he walked ahead, and saw two echidna's sparring in a form of combat.

"Hey Nu'Kells! Getting tired already?" Knuckles was baffled when he saw the echidnas that were sparring. One of them was a reddish brown and wore green robes. But the other echidna looked exactly like him: same robes, same red fur, same dreads, same gloves (though without spikes) same crescent moon mark on the chest and when the other spoke, it was in the same voice as him.

"You wish, Remy!" The one called Nu'Kells said as he threw a punch at Remy, who blocked with his arm. He then tried to trip Nu'Kells with his foot, but he jumped over it and kicked Remy in the chest, pushing him back, before he slammed him in a tree with his shoulder. "I win!" he said.

"Okay, I give!" Remy said as Nu'kells let him go. "Whoa, you're getting better and better, Nu'Kells. But I don't expect anything less from a future guardian." Remy complimented him.

"I'm not a guardian yet, and you know that. Besides you are a skilled fighter as well, you manage to keep me on my toes." Nu'Kells said.

"Oh come on, not so humble, you're the best and you know it but don't want me to feel bad. I mean, you have such endurance and strength, it's almost supernatural." Remy assured him.

"You boys care for a drink?" a female voice said to the two. A orange female echidna with a white shirt, green skirt, sandals and a tiara came in with a bucket of water. There were two ladles in it, and both Remy and Nu'Kells scooped up some water to drink.

"Thanks Tikal. You came just in time. Training makes thirsty you know. Especially when Mr. future guardian is your sparring partner." Remy said.

"Oh right, your ceremony is coming soon, isn't it? I heard that you have to fight one of the Pachacamac's greatest warriors to prove your worth." Tikal said.

"Your dad made up that part of the ceremony…you dad is obsessed with power I'm telling you. The war with the Nocturnus has left him unhinged." Nu'Kells said.

"I know…ever since mom passed away he hasn't been the same, I barely get to talk to him, your mom practically raised me." Tikal said.

"That's not a bad thing is it?" Nu'Kells asked.

"No…not at all, your parents are really nice and you are like the brother I never had." Tikal said.

"Oh really? Then I'll treat you like all my siblings." Nu'Kells said as he grabbed his ladle and splashes some water on Tikal.

"Hey…oh now you're going to get it." She said amused as she grabbed a ladle and splashed both Nu'Kells and Remy. "Oops, sorry Remy. Was aimed at the knucklehead." Tikal said.

"Water fight!" Remy said as the three splashed each other with water for fun.

"Well, well, well…" a slimy sounding voice from behind them said. They saw an echidna who had reddish brown fur like Remy, but he was taller and meaner, and two of dreads were gelled upwards, almost resembling horns. "My little baby brother Remington is playing with his wee little friends."

Tikal, Nu'Kells and Remy didn't look happy to see him. "Oh…hi Vic." Remy moaned…

"It's Vichama, and you better remember it. Look at you, a bunch of children. That's why you never made it to the elite, little brother. And you hang around with the greatest losers. First the guardian…don't care how prestige they have, all they do is watch a giant green rock twenty four hours, don't they have something more interesting to do, like watching paint dry, or grass grow? And you hang out with Cobar, you know he doesn't like women…or do you swing that way as well?" the one called Vichama said.

"Why you…" Remy said angry as he rushed at his brother, who grabs Remy's arm and twists it behind his back.

"So predictable…you'll always be second best, my little brother." Vichama said in a sweet tone that also sounded very sick.

"Leave him alone, Vic!" Tikal bit at Vichama.

"Ah, Tika-Al." Vichama said. Tika-Al was her real name, but everyone just calls her Tikal due to it being easier to pronounce. "Why do you hang around with such losers? Why don't you stop hanging out with them and stop playing with the chao, and instead hang around with the likes of me? I'm one of your dad's best after all." Vichama said in a very macho tone.

Tikal grabbed a ladle with water, and tossed it at Vichama's groin, his trousers wet. He lets Remy go, who started to laugh his tail off, and so did Nu'Kells. "Such insolence…listen here, one day daddy is going to pick you a suitor, and that will be me. Why? Cause I'm the best, you'll be my wife someday, and one of the first things you'll need to learn is respect…" Vichama growled at her.

"You still here? If I were you I'd change those pants, before anyone sees you and your rep goes down the crapper." Tikal mocked. Vichama fumed and left.

"Tikal, that was awesome, and you didn't have to use any of your spells. You could have so given him big boils on his…" Nu'Kells said.

"I promised my teacher not to use my spellwork for childish pranks or payback. And unlike Vichama I'd have some dignity, thank you. I really hope he was bluffing when he said daddy would marry me out to him. Seriously, Remy. How are you and him brothers again?" Tikal said.

"I dunno…I look after my mom I guess. Who our dad was I don't even know, mom didn't want to tell us. Probably a relationship going terribly wrong." Remy noted.

"I'm actually worried…Chief Pachacamac might actually have that slimy brother of yours marry Tikal. The thought of it makes me sick." Nu'Kells said.

"And what am I to say? Being the wife of that arrogant, pompous…probably have to play the doting housewife while he treats me as his personal housemaid. Any other guy is better than him." Tikal added.

"Not if we make him look bad in front of your dad. You see, he values strength, and if I humiliate Vichama on the day that I face my guardian trial by defeating him, your dad might not hold him in high regard anymore." Nu'Kells suggested.

"You sure? My brother is highly skilled, and he treats every fight, sparring or otherwise like a day on the battlefield. He'll probably enjoy hurting you." Remy said worried.

"If he fights the way he thinks, it shouldn't be any trouble." Nu'Kells said.

"You don't have to do this for me, Nu'Kells!" Tikal said.

"I meant it when I said I see you as a sister, and I'll do everything to protect you from that slimeball Vichama. I'll show him…" Nu'Kells said.

It was then that the scene around Knuckles started to fade and became a whirlpool of colors, before it changed into another scene. It was late at night, at some sort of small erana for sorts. "What the…" Knuckles muttered. He saw an elderly echidna on a spiffy looking throne. Due to Tikal sitting next to him, Knuckles concluded that it had to be her father, Pachacamac.

On the other side, he saw Nu'Kells with several other echidna's. One of them was an elderly looking echidna who looked a lot like an older Nu'Kells. A pregnant looking female echidna, probably his wife was there as well, and a kid echidna who shared the purple eyes and red fur with the other family members. Also, a very old looking echidna was also with them.

"Oh Locke…I wish you would have talked this trial out of Pachacamac's empty head." The really old echidna said in a very Scottish sounding accent, to the man Knuckles assumed was Nu'Kells' father.

"I'm sorry, grandpa Athair. But there is no talking with Pachacamac. I tried to tell him it's customary for the guardians that a trial involving survival in the jungle was customary, but he found this battle a greater prove of strength then some…how did he say it? 'Some late night camping'?" Locke said.

"I know that we live in a time of war, but we shouldn't be fighting one another. And Pachacamac's elites are a bunch of brutes…" the pregnant echidna woman said.

"Don't worry too much, Lara-Le, that's not good for the egg." Locke said as he put his hand on her bulging stomach.

The echidna kid spoke up: "No worries, mom and dad and great-grandpa Athair. I'm sure Nu'Kells can wipe the floor with any of those thick-headed bullies."

"Glad you believe in me, To'od. You do realize that if I lose, I am no longer worthy of being a guardian, and you'll probably have to be trained to take the role next." Nu'Kells said to his little brother.

"I'm sure you won't lose." To'od said.

"Well, here goes nothing." Nu'Kells said as he stepped on the battlefield. He saw several faces in the public, including Remington, his mother and Cobar, a good friend of his family (despite his sexual preference) and some others, who gave him a thumbs up.

Pachacamac spoke up: "Nu'Kells of the clan of the guardians. Today your worth shall be proven to guard our most valued possessions, the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds, by facing one of my elite warriors in combat. You can pick your own opponent, though all my elites are highly trained." He spoke very formally, showing no emotions, though keeping a firm look.

"I suggest you pick Amos, I heard he has a cold." Athair suggested, but Nu'Kells didn't want to hear it.

"I pick Vichama." Nu'Kells said sure of himself. Vichama had a nasty grin on his face, as Pachacamac's face was stoic like always.

Vichama was a foot taller than Nu'Kells, but the guardian to be was not scared of him. "You think you can take me, short stack? You can't guard a cake, let alone an Emerald…if you fail, probably my platoon of warriors will be in charge of guarding the thing, and I'll do it better then you can." Vichama spat at him.

"A real man doesn't fight with words but with…" Nu'Kells said, but Vichama didn't let him finish as he punched Nu'Kells in the gut and then sent him flying with a punch.

"No fair!" To'od shouted. Pachacamac didn't say anything and just let it happen.

Vichama walked over to Nu'Kells, who got up and uppercuts Vichama, before he punched him in the stomach, making him double over in pain, before he slams his fists in his back, knocking him down. "Now that was just rude…where are your manners?" Nu'Kells mocked. Vichama didn't answer but grabbed his ankle, and then tossed Nu'Kells in the wall of the arena.

"My baby!" Lara-Le said worried, close to tears.

Nu'Kells got up however, knowing how to take a beating, and rushed at Vichama. He tossed a punch, which Vichama caught, before he launched a punch of his own, which Nu'Kells caught in his own hand. Both now tried to push each other back. But Nu'Kells headbutts Vichama, who staggered back. Then Nu'Kells kicks him in the…future heirs. As he doubled over in pain, he pulled something from his boot. He then rushed at Nu'Kells and…slash!

Vichama had hidden a dagger in his boot. Nu'Kells clutched his bloody arm in pain. "That's not fair, it was supposed to be a physical fight." Locke said angry. He and several others wanted to get involved, but several of Pachacamac's warriors blocked their path.

"Daddy, stop this! Vichama's cheating. This fight can't go on like this." Tikal begged.

"The fight continues…I want to see how he saves himself now." Pachacamac, still stoic but he dropped hints of sadism in his voice.

"Dad, he might kill him!" Tikal said.

"If he can't win this fight, who says he won't hold it out on the battlefield as well? I have no use for a guardian that can't fight." Pachacamac said. Tikal couldn't believe her ears. Her dad viewed a mere life as expendable.

Vichama held up the dagger as he prepared to stab Nu'Kells, but as he brought his hand down Nu'Kells, caught his wrist in his hand. Vichama noted that suddenly Nu'Kells was a lot stronger as his wrist was being crushed in his hand. Nu'Kells eyes were full of fury as he then jerked back his other hand, curled it into a fist and then swifly brought it down on Vichama's face.

Vichama was sent flying all across the arena, into the wall on the other side, leaving an imprint as he crashed into the wall. The most notable thing was that there were two bloody cut marks upon his face. He then fell down completely out cold. Nu'Kells looked at his hands, and saw that all of a sudden, spikes have grown on his knuckles, and have torn right through his gloves…

"He's it…the Avatar! One of the chosen three!" one of the echidna's said. Everyone was surprised, as all of a sudden, everyone started to chant: "Avatar…avatar…" Nu'Kells couldn't believe it, he was part of the legendary trinity…

Pachacamac looked on, a small smile on his face, thought it looked very sinister. Tikal didn't notice as she cheered for her friend's victory… "Interesting."

Knuckles looked at his own gloves, and the spike shapes on top to house his spikes, then he looked at his arm, where he found a scar he didn't pay attention to before. The scar on his arm proved it: He was Nu'Kells, and what he saw now was a flashback of his past life…but he watched it as a bystander, not as a memory where he saw everything through his own eyes, but why?"

Suddenly, the entire scene faded in a flash of green light, similar to the one that had erupted from the Master Emerald earlier…and it vanished like that. He found himself back in the Emerald chamber in present times…he caught a glimp of something blue and liquid slithering by before he lost consciousness.

TO BE CONTINUED


	71. Knuckles' Adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE: ADVENTURE, KNUCKLES' STORY PART II

Knuckles found himself waking up in his bed, the Chaotix around him. "Boss? You okay?" Vector asked.

"What happened? I remember being in the Emerald Chamber, and Robotnik and Benedict being there…but then I remember a huge flash." Knuckles said.

"The two dictators have shattered the Master Emerald, only the bottom piece remains. It lies in pieces, and the island crashed down on the surface…luckily we were above the water when it happened." Espio answered.

"What happened afterwards?" Knuckles asked.

"The pieces of the Master Emerald scattered onto the surface of the planet, and something big, blue and liquid came out of the Emerald. Whatever it was, both Robotnik and Benedict wanted it as the forgot about us and ordered their forces to capture it, but they were all decimated easily. Whatever it was, the bad guys sure want it bad. "Mighty explained.

Knuckles thought for a few seconds. He wondered if he should tell them what he had seen. But Knuckles hadn't seen it all…what happened to all the echidna's he saw in that vision? And where does that blue liquid being fit in? "Listen guys…when the emerald shattered I saw a vision, an image of the past. My past. I saw it all: echidna's and stuff." Knuckles said.

"Really?" they all asked baffled.

"Yes, I managed to gain bits and pieces…my real name is Nu'Kells…I had two friends named Remy and Tikal…Tikal's dad was a jerk, and so was Remy's brother. I had a family, a father, a mother and a little brother. My mother expected a third and we had my great-grandfather living with us…" Knuckles explained.

"And then?" Charmy asked curiously.

"That was it, that's all the vision showed me. But at least I know a bit more…but not enough yet. And I'm afraid it'll have to wait, we need to collect the pieces of the Master Emerald. We must repair it, lock that blue thing up again and make the island float again as well." Knuckles said.

"Well, I located some of the pieces with a scanner I managed to put together on short notice, but you have to be in a certain range to find them. However, we already located some pieces in Soumerca. We landed close enough to the coast, so that's where the journey will start." Heavy explained as he handed a scanner to Knuckles.

"Okay then. Mighty, Ray, Heavy and Bomb, you stay behind and guard the island, in case Robotnik, Benedict or the blue creature might return. The rest of you go with me and find the Emerald shards." Knuckles said.

Later on, Knuckles, Vector and Espio took one of their Chaotix Mobiles and flew to the main land, Charmy on their trail. They landed near the coast and pulled out the scanner. "Okay, there are three pieces around this area. Scatter and look around every corner." Knuckles said.

They moved out and looked in separate direction. Vector looked near the waterfall, pushing aside some fern to see, then diving into the water to look at the bottom. Then, when he got out the water, he saw something green and shiny sticking out on a rock wall. Vector climbs towards it and pulls it out. "One shard down!" he says.

Espio had excellent tracking skills and Charmy could overlook things in the sky. "I see it, in the nest of a big bird…though it doesn't look like he wants to hand it over." Charmy said.

"Distract it, I'll get the shard." Espio explained. Charmy flew up to the bird's nest and pulled its tail feathers. The bird got angry and chased Charmy, while Espio climbed towards the nest and grabbed the shard. Later on, Charmy would manage to lose the bird and meet up with Espio again. "We got it!"

Knuckles himself climbed up a cliff by using his spikes as hooks to dig into the rock wall. He climbed all the way to the top, until he had reached the top and was back on solid ground. In the grass he saw the piece lying around. "Okay, here we have it." Knuckles said as he reached out for the piece. However as he touched the piece, it started to glow…

The shards in Vector's and Espio's grasp started to glow as well as it flew out of their hand and headed for Knuckles' position. The three shards then headed for one another, and as they met, there was once again a bright light, like when the Emerald was shattered. "There we go again…" Knuckles said.

The light engulfed Knuckles as he went back to a place of colors swirling around before the word around him finally has taken shape again. Knuckles soon found himself back in the time period where the ruins of Angel Island were still intact and the echidnas roamed. "Mh…I wonder if this will happen every time I collect emerald shards." Knuckles wondered.

He walked around, like last time he couldn't touch anything and he can't be heard, seen or felt. He was after all a bystander. What had happened, had happened and the past cant' be changed now.

Knuckles saw the girl from his previous vision, Tikal. She was hanging around the Master Emerald shrine. Near the shrine was a small lake, where tiny blue creatures with tiny wings and raindrop-shaped heads were. Tikal seems to be delighted by their presence as she played with them.

Another echidna, one Knuckles hasn't seen before yet, approached her. He had a light blue tone to his fur, which wasn't seen with the other echidnas. He had green eyes and he looked in interest at Tikal and the little blue creatures. He walked towards her and spoke to her: "Wonderful creatures, aren't they? The chao?"

Tikal turned around, taking a good look at the echidna. He could be considered handsome by echidna standards. "Yes, they are! They are more than meets the eye. They are intelligent, they can understand me…and they cheer me up whenever I feel down. I take care of them." Tikal said as she petted one of the chao on his tiny head.

"You know, these wonderful beings are considered the children of the Water Walker Ch'auzz himself? That he forged these beings from raindrops and embedded them with the happiness of the people? Of course that's a legend. But I am inclined to believe it." He said as one of the chao flew up to him and landed on his hand.

"That's odd…that chao, I call him Nippy, isn't normally very fond of strangers…you must be special." Tikal said. The blue echidna let out a soft chuckle. "I didn't get your name…come to think of it, I've never seen you before I think." Tikal added.

"I have a gift with chao if you must know. But about your second statement…I'm not one to mingle with the folks too often. I often stand by the sidelines, watching. But how could I resist being around these little guys? But if you want to address me by a given name…call me Kaz." The stranger answered.

"You know, not many see the full potential of the chao. My friends kind of do, but they are so busy lately…and my dad thinks they're useless. My father dislikes anything that isn't related to power. Power is all he seems to have on his mind as of late." Tikal said sadly.

"Power is a foolish thing to seek. I can know…It's not worth having if it distances you from the world around you. It's why I've decided of all days to come out now." Kaz said.

"Distance…I won't deny that there has been a gap between me and my father. Though the Nocturnus and the Tribe of Edmund are at war for centuries, my ancestors had fought to protect. But my father…I'm worried he might turn out as bad as the ones we fight. I don't even see the use of this war. It only brings pain." Tikal said sadly.

"You are familiar with the origins of both tribes?" Kaz said.

"Yeah, Edmund, the first guardian and the founder of our tribe, and Dimitri, founder of the Nocturnus were brothers. Both of them were adept with the power of chaos energy which lives in everything, but is strongest in the legendary Emeralds. Edmund sought enlightment through the Chaos force, and had benevolent ideas. But Dimitri sought power and sought even more, and his thoughts were less…nice then his brothers. It caused a rift between them, their tribes. It became war." Tikal explained.

"That's how it is. That's how it started, yet no one knew how to end it. Of course, it's the Nocturnus that seek conquest…world isn't exactly black and white. I see with your father and his elite warriors that in the tribe of white, stains of black may appear. It may corrupt the tribe and destroy it from the inside." Kaz said. He then took a look at the sad looking Tikal. "And it's the innocent who will suffer. I sense it in you, a lot of pain."

This Kaz seemed to perfectly understand how Tikal was feeling… "My father has not been a father to me. I was raised by my grandmother, and after she passed away, by the guardians' family." She said sadly. "I can't understand that man is my father at all."

"Life works in mysterious ways…But you're not like him. You don't want this to continue. You seek to end it, to end the suffering on both sides. You seek peace. The spirit of Edmund lives on in people like you." Kaz assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder, comforting her.

Tikal smiled… "Thank you. You know, I've only known you for five minutes…but I feel a connection with you. But you also seem to understand me so well…you're an enigma." Tikal said.

"I just appear to those who need my help." Kaz assured her. He moved his hand toward the lake as a small glob of water flew out of it and flew into his hand. He reshaped the water and then froze it, turning it into a miniature ice sculpture of Tikal.

The scene started to change as colors swirled around again. It changed this time to a hill Knuckles recognized, it was a spot he often stands on to get a nice view of Angel Island when patrolling. It was used by Tikal and Kaz right now, the two cuddled up together. "Oh Kaz…you have made me so happy. I wish we could stay together forever." It was at a later point in time, where Kaz and Tikal had grown into a couple.

"It can happen…if we really want to." Kaz said, running his hand through Tikal's dreads.

"You know we can't…my father won't let me marry you. To him your another chao fancier, and that makes you a lesser being in his eyes. And I can't make him see what you mean to me." Tikal said sadly.

"I won't let your father take us apart. He's dumb to think he can do so." Kaz said.

"My dad is a mighty man." Tikal said.

"So am I…though I may not seem like it." Kaz assured her.

"Hey lovebirds." A voice said to the lovebirds. It was Nu'Kells. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

"You have the worst timing you know?" Tikal said.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Can I help it you're later for dinner? My mom even made your favorite…that reminds me! Kaz, you and my lil' sis here are dating for a while, I think it's time you meet my family. Closest thing to future in-laws you have." Nu'Kells said.

"Well…I'd love to meet the people who have helped Tikal form into this fine young woman she is." Kaz said.

"That's settled then, come along!" Nu'Kells said as he tagged along with Nu'Kells and Tikal.

The scene shifted again, this time the Nu'Kells household. It looked like the living quarters of the temple Knuckles and the Chaotix always chill out, only cleaner. The family had just finished dinner. "I must say that was an excellent quiche ma'am." Kaz said politely.

"Oh, just call me Lara-Le. You're part of the family as far as I'm concerned." She said. She was no longer looking pregnant and holding an egg in a blanket in her arms.

"If Pachacamac would allow me to marry Tikal that is…" Kaz said.

"It's true love we're talking about, even Pachacamac can't interfere with that. The Soul Touch never lies. I can know, I felt it immediately when I met Lara-Le." Locke said.

"Aye, we all have felt it. I remember when I met my beloved Crystal-La, there was this spark when I first met that gal." Athair said.

"Sound disgusting." To'od said. He was at the age one should be afraid of cooties.

"You say that now, but wait until you're older." Lara-Le said to her son.

"The only one old enough to not have felt the Soul touch yet, ironically is Nu'Kells here. But hey, sometimes these things take time." Locke added.

"My time will come too. For now I'm glad at least Tikal found her happiness." Nu'Kells said as he patted Kaz on the back.

"So, already have thought of a name for the hatchling?" Tikal asked as she pointed at the egg.

"Mae-Le if it's a girl, Mace if it's a boy." Lara-Le said.

To'od wanted to grab another yam from the bowl in front of him, but accidentally knocked over the can of water. Kaz waved his hand, and the can stood back up and the water flew back into it.

"Oh yeah…that interesting power of yours. Where did you get it?" Locke asked.

"Born with it, like you guardians are born with an exceptional connection to the chaos force." Kaz said.

The scene swirled around in a mixture of colors a final time, and this time the scene had shifted to a temple that looked like the one Eggman had dug up the Master Emerald. Pachacamac sat there on his throne and he shouted at his daughter: "No! Not in a thousand years, no."

"But daddy, I love him. What is so wrong with that?" Tikal begged her father, Kaz at her side.

"You are the princess, you are not to marry a commoner, he's not worthy of you." Pachacamac said.

"He's more worthy then any of the barbarians you call the Elite will ever be. I felt the soul touch dad, the soul touch!" Tikal said, tears coming from her eyes.

"You must have imagined that. You're still a hormonal teen after all." Pachacamac said.

"You don't know anything about that, would you old man? About love…it explains that you never pay any attention to your only daughter, only when it concerns continuing the family line? Well let me tell you something, I knew your daughter better in the past few months that I know her then you in your while life. What does that say about you as a father?" Kaz stated.

"Do not tell me how to raise my daughter. It's none of your concern." Pachacamac said.

"Excuse me? Raise? You didn't raise her, you weren't involved with any of it! It was the guardians who did the raising? Were you there on her first day of school? On her graduation? On her birthdays? No…you haven't done anything. All you did was being occupied with your little warfare. Other warriors risk their lives out there against the Nocturnus, but they worry every night about their wives and kids, and want to be part of their lives, even if the mere contact is reduced to some messages per letter." Kaz bit at Pachacamac.

"This is war, and I need to be there for my people. I need to lead them." Pachacamac said.

"Lead them? You're slowly starting to suppress them. Let me see, change a long echidna guardian trial to what nearly became a fight to the death? Or the fact that you lowered the age that echidna boys are forced into the military to thirteen? Or that you have cut the funds of education back by a half to fund your military?" Kaz stated.

"We need true strength in this time of need, only the strongest can continue…" Pachacamac said.

"What about kindness and compassion, you need those when you are a true leader." Kaz stated.

"Kindness and compassion…just words. We don't need those." Pachacamac stated.

"You have become as dark as the Nocturnus you fight." Kaz said.

"Do not compare me to those wretched Nocturnus." Pachacamac said angry. But he calmed down shortly afterwards. "But what does it matter, I determine the laws, and there is nothing that you can do about that." Pachacamac said.

"I don't think so…" Kaz said with a smug smile as he snapped his fingers. Another echidna came in, carrying a lot of scrolls. "You remember Cobar, friend of Tikal's…and an expert concerning the law of echidnas. He has a few interesting things to say."

"Right here…yeah it says here that the Soul touch is sacred and has been decided by the very first chief appointed by Edmund himself no law can interfere with it." Cobar said.

"Who says it's really the Soul Touch, there is no way to prove that." Pachacamac said smugly.

"The mystics can, I can summon them here and perform a spell to check out if it's true." Cobar said.

"All right, you got me there but remember, I made a law, unless I approve, no wedding." Pachacamac said.

"Correction! The law says that for sons and daughters of high ranked warriors in the court of the chief and the chief itself the rightful guardian has to approve. And while you are her father, you didn't get involved with raising her, and you don't qualify for guardianship. The legitimate guardian, by default for being present at important event like Unveiling and stuff…makes it Locke of the Guardians." Cobar explained.

"WHAT?" Pachacamac asked.

"You lose old man…me and Locke are on good terms and there is no doubt he'd approve my wedding with your daughter." Kaz said.

Pachacamac got really angry as he clenched his teeth, his eyes bulged out of his head and his skin became red, visible from under his fur. He roared loudly, grabbed his throne and tossed it at Kaz. However, Kaz held out his hand, waved it and with a jet of water cut the throne clean in half. "Temper, temper…" Kaz said.

But before Knuckles could see more, the scene faded in another bright greenish white, and found himself back on the cliff he found the emerald shard. The three shards that have floated towards one another had now fused into a huge chunk of emerald material… "That was…interesting. But Tikal was central in this flashback. I know she and I were like siblings in a past life, but if they are my memories, why was she the focus? Or is what I've been seeing not my own memories, but someone else's?"

TO BE CONTINUED


	72. Knuckles' Adventure III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO: ADVENTURE, KNUCKLES' STORY PART III

Knuckles had woken up and was now greeted by Vector, Charmy and Espio. "Boss…it happened again." Vector said, referring to the bright flash and Knuckles being out cold.

"I know…but every time we get some of the shards, I start to see the past. This quest is just what I might need to put it back together. At least I hope I do." Knuckles said.

"What did it show this time?" Espio asked curiously.

"It showed that girl, Tikal. She had a boyfriend. They were engaged, daddy didn't approve. Daddy the chief was kind of a jerk. They found a loophole of sorts." Knuckles stated.

"That part of the story at least has a happy end." Charmy said.

"Not yet…it's still incomplete, things might have happened in the mean time. After all, my people have disappeared. The only question is how." Knuckles said.

"Then we better get looking for more shards. Heavy and Bomb detected more shards somewhere out there in the Great Unknown." Vector said.

"Then let's head out!" Knuckles said as they went deeper into main land. They came across the stormy and wasteland-like Great Unknown, where they would search for the rest of the shards. "Split and search." Knuckles said, using the old tactics again.

Vector was first to track down a shard. However it was in the only body of water in the wasteland and it looked quite murky. Vector didn't like swimming in dirty water, but did so anyway. Thank the Walkers he was born in a swamp and had extra eyelids for under water as he recovered the shard.

Charmy and Espio looked around the wasteland. There was little to no plant growing so a shard should be sticking out. They found a dead tree trunk however, and the scanner reacted to it. "It has to be in here…help me move it, I'm not Mighty, after all." Espio said. He and Charmy pushed the trunk aside and recovered the shard that was under it.

Knuckles has already tracked down his shard, embedded in a cliff wall. He climbed up to it and grabbed it, and tried to pull it out. It seemed really stuck but with his strength he pried it loose and then climbed down again. The shard reacted just like the last one, and summoned the ones Espio, Charmy and Vector had found. "You'd say I'm getting used to this." Knuckles sighed as the shards came together and Knuckles found the world around him washing away in another flash.

Knuckles found himself on the battlefield this time. He saw for the first time the war between the echidna clans. His clan of Edmund had padded armor over their tribal robes, while the other group of echidnas had black full-body suits with helmets, and it looked very high tech. Both groups used a blend of tech and mystical arts, but the Tribe of Edmund used the latter more than the former, while the Nocturnus were more about the tech. Spells and laser blasts shot everywhere, as spears clashed with the purple blades the Nocturnus carried.

Knuckles then saw himself, in his past incarnation of Nu'Kells arrive on the scene. His skin was green…he was in his Super Form, Chaos Knuckles. Chaos Nu'Kells roared as he shot Thunder Arrows from his spikes, the blasts destroying some tanks and turrets the Nocturnus had brought along. The Nocturnus tried firing at him, but of course in his new form, Nu'Kells was invincible. They cowered back in fear. "Leave!" he ordered. The Nocturnus didn't think twice about that and fled.

The warriors cheered for the new display of strength the Avatar had shown them. But Chief Pachacamac, having led the charge, was not. "Why didn't you kill them? We could have crippled their forces." Pachacamac said.

"You seem to be either stupid or forgetful, but I'm a guardian. And our code of honor states that we don't kill. We don't kill because we can, we are no Nocturnus." Nu'Kells said.

"We could have won the war, and you risked it all because you don't have the guts?" Pachacamac scolded.

Nu'Kells grabbed him by the collar: "Ending this war with more bloodshed? Enough blood has flowed on both sides. Families have already been torn apart enough, and not only on our side, but on theirs as well. How many of the warriors could have been fathers to their sons and daughters? No, I'm looking for a better way…a peaceful way. And if you're not with me, stand aside." Nu'Kells said as he tossed Pachacamac to the ground.

"With all the power in the world you're still weak." Pachacamac said.

"No…praise myself I'm strong enough not to finish you off." Nu'Kells said as he fled. He sat down on his favorite spot, the place Knuckles always looked over Angel Island.

Nu'Kells was greeted by a warm voice: "Something wrong boy?" It was his great-grandfather Athair.

"Oh, hi Athair. Just…" Nu'Kells stammered, but couldn't finish his sentence.

"Something is wrong, I can sense it boy. I also recognize that look, I used to mope like that as well." Athair said in his Scottish accent.

"The war…the fighting has to stop. Pachacamac is getting crazier and values the life of his soldiers less and less. And I also thought that…in the Nocturnus those soldiers must have families too, mourning their lost ones. I just want the fighting to stop." Nu'Kells said.

"I know how you feel. I should have outlived my son, your grandfather Sabre. But he fell in battle. I actually outlived more people then I cared about. Maybe indeed the war has to end, but without more blood being spilled." Athair stated.

It was then that Nu'Kells' head jerked up, having heard something. He tried to sense where it came from…before he dove into some bushes and lashed with his namesakes, hitting something invisible…and making it visible. A Nocturnus soldier. "Halt!" he said. The Nocturnus punched Nu'Kells in the jaw and ran, Nu'Kells on his tail. "Stop!" Nu'Kells caught up with the stranger, who was tackled to the ground. They wrestled each other for a while, until Nu'Kells managed to pull the helmet of the soldier's head…and made an unexpected discovery. "You're a girl?"

Indeed, the Nocturnus girl in front of him was an echidna girl. She had pink fur, pink hair in a ponytail and violet eyes. "So what?" she said as she headbutts Nu'Kells, knocking him back and off her. She ran off, Nu'Kells on her trail.

She ran as fast as she could, until she came across the edge of a cliff. She found herself cornered so the best thing she could do was fight back. As Nu'Kells caught up she tried to punch him, only for Nu'Kells to block it. "Wait…I don't want to hurt you." he said, not wanting to fight, but she wouldn't hear it. She kicked him in the stomach as Nu'Kell staggered back.

She then pulled out two blades, the standard Nocturnus Leech Blades and lashed at Nu'Kells, who avoided the swipes, and then lashed with his spikes, knocking the blades out of her hand. She got angry as she charged at him, Nu'Kells moving aside to dodge, as she continued to rush forward, and nearly ran off the cliff, standing on the edge…it was a long way down and a fall would be deadly.

She tried to keep her balance as she was at the edge, and was about to fall over as Nu'Kells pulled her back, to a safe distance from the edge. "Oof, that was close. Thanks. Wait…you're from the tribe of Edmund, why would you save me? I'm a Nocturnus, you should have let me fall." The girl thanked, but was surprised.

"Correction, that's what Pachacamac would have done. I don't. I'm a guardian, and we have learned to value life. Even that of the Nocturnus." Nu'Kells explained.

"So you're the one then who managed to fend off our entire army? But spared them in the end?" she asked. Nu'Kells nodded. "Though you realize we have to be enemies again now, I'm a Nocturnus, you are an Edmund Tribe." She said.

"If that's what you think, go ahead and strike me down now, that's what you were planning to do when you listened in on me and Athair. I won't fight back…I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of this war." Nu'Kells said.

"I…I can't do that. It wouldn't be honorable to strike you down like that. And besides, I'm a scout, not an assassin…I don't want to fight you right now. Call it sparing you for saving me. What's your name, guardian?" the echidna girl said.

"Nu'Kells. What's yours?"

"I'm…Julie-Su. You know, that was very noble of you. Saving a foe. It's too bad sooner or later we'll have to be part of another battle, on opposite sides. Believe me or not, I wish it could end too." Julie-Su said.

"Really?" Nu'Kells asked.

"Yeah…the war has cost the lives of my mother, and to my uncle Simon and aunt Floren-Ca. I wish it didn't have to be like this. But because the two of us believe so, won't mean we'll be able to convince our tribes." Julie-Su said.

"Can't we try? Do you ever want to look at those blue skies, without having to worry arrows, spears and energy blasts would rip through them?" Nu'Kells said.

"Indeed…how would we do it however?" Julie-Su wondered.

"I got…connections in my tribe. Maybe you can do the same? I'm sure no one wants to see their loved ones die anymore. Our people shouldn't suffer anymore because of the bickering of two brothers long ago." Nu'Kells suggested.

"You truly believe in a world of peace, do you? And you believe me, a Nocturnus to hold something good? Cause I'm aware of the rep of my people." Julie-Su said.

"I do." Nu'Kells assured her.

"Why?" Julie-Su asked.

"Because…I dunno, I feel a connection to you somehow. I don't know why. Call it instinct, even if I'm not sure it describes it." Nu'Kells said.

Julie-Su looked amused. "You know…I have this good feeling about you as well. I'll probably going to get in trouble for this…but can we be friends?" she asked.

"Sure. But if we want to hang out, we'll have to be careful no one sees us together." Nu'Kells said.

"No worries…I'm a scout and a spy, I'm all about stealth." She assured him. "Though there are two things you need to know about me. One: Never call me cute. Second, don't ask me to do stupid girly stuff. Got that?" she said.

"Got it." Nu'Kells said.

"Well, I got to go now, my siblings would probably wonder what I'm at. See you, Nu'Kells." She said as she put her helmet back on and vanished.

"Why do I suddenly feel so warm inside?" Nu'Kells said to himself.

The scene shifted again…in between the shifting Nu'Kells saw some brief moments between him and that Julie-Su girl. He saw moments of them having friendly sparring matches, moments of strolling through the forest, moments of them laughing. Knuckles felt the same warmth Nu'Kells felt in his chest earlier.

The shifting stopped and we were now at a solid scene again. It was Nu'Kells and Julie-Su chilling out near the spot Nu'Kells saved her. "I can't believe we know each other for a year now. Time sure flies. But neither of us has made any progress with our people." Nu'Kells stated.

"Indeed. But I don't regret the time spent with you. I need these small and quiet moments…" Julie-Su said.

Nu'Kells sighed as he turned to her. "Julie-Su…I must say something. You know, ever since I first locked eyes with you, I felt this connection to you. I didn't fully understand it at first but…I got to know you, and you showed me how strong you were, and how kind and…you truly believe in a better world. I…Julie-Su, what I feel is the Soul Touch, I believe…no, I really love you." Nu'Kells said as she grabbed her hand.

Julie-Su was baffled. Her cheeks blushed bright red. "I…Nu'Kells…I felt it too, the connection, the day you saved me. I was intrigued by you. You were noble, wise and strong. You showed me kindness, me, a Nocturnus. And now you show me true love. I love you too…but we are from opposite tribes. Being friends is risky enough as it is. Love is even riskier." Julie-Su said.

"Well I don't give a damn. We already are at risk, so why is a bit more so bad?" Nu'Kells asked.

"Because I've not been totally honest with you. My real name is not Julie-Su. My real name is Aman-Da. I'm sister to Kommisars Lien-Da and Kragok, youngest daughter of Grandmaster Luger…I'm a direct descendant of Dimitri, the one who started the war on his brother." Julie-Su admitted.

"Is that it? You are afraid of your heritage? It doesn't matter how you are born. I mean, my friend Tikal is daughter of the Chief. The Chief is a prick, but Tikal is a sweet girl. You are different from the rest of the Nocturnus. I know that…and you know that." Nu'Kells said, taking it well.

He strokes her cheek with his hand, and pulls her in for a deep kiss, which she returned. The two kissed for a long time, not caring how much time has went by…they broke apart with a loving look in their eyes.

"I love you, Nu'Kells." Julie-Su said.

"I love you too, Julie-Su." Nu'Kells replied.

"You're still going to refer to me by that name?" Julie-Su asked.

"Yes. I think it's…" Nu'Kells said.

"Don't dare say 'cuter'." Julie-Su warned.

"I wanted to say 'more fitting for you'." Nu'Kells said.

"Oh…what the heck? I've grown accustomed to the name, I found my real name to sound boring after all. Call me Julie-Su then. Now…are we going to kiss some more?" Julie-Su replied.

As Knuckles saw how Nu'Kells and Julie-So continued to make out, more thoughts went through his mind…he was happy to learn he had a family. He was even happier to learn he had known love long ago. But the realization hit him: they were gone, and he still didn't know where.

The scene around him was engulfed in another light, as the scene faded and he woke up in the Great Unknown, the three fused shards in his hand again. He panted heavily as he woke up, the mixed feelings of joy of the regained memories, but the sadness of the knowledge they aren't around anymore overwhelmed him.

But he then noticed a fight going on in the distance. He saw vague shapes, but something stuck out, it was light blue, like the liquid being he saw briefly when the emerald was shattered. He didn't hesitate and moved towards it.

He saw it: the liquid being that came from the Master Emerald. Chaos. In his Chaos 1 form to be exact. Next to him was Robotnik in his Robo-Mobile, and the creature was facing Sally and Sonic, while holding a member of the Wolf Pack in his hand by the throat.

"Ah, Sonic! I hoped you'd show up. As you see, I always have a backup plan in case the first one fails. My Waspnik might have been a disaster, but Elise proved herself really useful, now Ch'auzz has reached his next form. And the more emeralds he eats, the bigger and stronger he grows!"

"Well, then I have to beat you before you can give him more Emeralds." Sonic stated.

"You won't be beating me or Ch'auzz, cause if you do, he'll snap the wolf's neck. Unless you give me the emerald you found on the beach…" Robotnik taunted.

"We know you won't keep your end of the bargain!" Sally noted.

"You really want to take the risk?" Robotnik said as he pointed at how Reynard was in pain in Chaos' grip. Knuckles cursed Robotnik silently.

"I don't trust you, but maybe the drip is up for negotiation. Hey blubberbrain, you get the emerald if you let Reynard go!" Sonic said. Knuckles knew Sonic was rash, but stupid? Can there be negotiated with such a travesty?

"Ha, you try to negotiate with…" But to everyone's surprise, Chaos stretched out the arm holding Reynard towards Sonic, dropped Reynard and grabbed the Emerald, before absorbing it, increasing in size and gaining another bone-like structure in his arm with the Emerald in it.

"I don't believe it, but that thing actually has a form of honor." Sonic stated. Knuckles had to agree. Chaos then roared as he pounded the ground. "That didn't last long." Sonic said.

Sonic didn't waste any time as he rushed at Chaos, who stretched out his massive arms fast enough to catch Sonic off-guard and grab him, and then began electrocuting him.

"Sonic!" Sally said as she rushed at Chaos, only to get stretch punched. It was clear that they wouldn't be able to handle it on their own.

"Yes! I'm finally getting rid of…" Robotnik said, but his speech was cut short when Knuckles jumped down from his hiding place, glided forward with his spiky namesakes forward and dove into Chaos' arm, breaking it apart into water and releasing Sonic.

"Knuckles! Good to see you!" Sonic said as he recovered from Chaos attack and greeted the echidna.

"You can do nothing without my help, can you?" Knuckles joked as he then turned to Chaos. "And I have a score to settle with that water guy."

"You know it?" Sonic asked.

"It came out of the Master Emerald. Benedict and Robotnik were fighting over it and they broke it, and released that thing." Luckily Angel Island was above the ocean when it fell." Knuckles answered.

"Can the Master Emerald be broken? Can it be fixed? And was that thing in the Emerald?" Sonic asked.

"It's an emerald, not a diamond so yes it's breakable! It can be fixed, if I find all the shards, and I already have some. And yeah, that thing came from the Emerald. Now I know why Angel Island was in the sky all this time, to hide that thing from the world." Knuckles answered.

"Enough chit-chat between you two! Ch'auzz, go get them!" Robotnik ordered. Ch'auzz stretched out his huge hands as it missed our heroes, who barely managed to dodge.

"Tag team?" Sonic asked.

"You know it!" Knuckles said as they rushed at Chaos. Chaos charges up and shoots lightning. Sonic jumps over the lightning as Knuckles punches the ground and makes a small wall of earth rise up and block the blast. Sonic homes in on the head and hits it, but doesn't hit the brain, but briefly peels away the liquid layer of his head before it regenerates.

"It appears we need to attack in rapid succession. One makes a hole in its body, the other hits the brain!" Sonic suggested.

"Not a bad idea, guess your speed isn't all there is about you. Okay, be ready to hit him when I give him a punch!" Knuckles said as he rushed at Chaos. Chaos stretches out his arms, but Knuckles grabs the hands. Chaos shocked him, but Knuckles, despite the pain, weathered the storm and pulled apart the watery arms. As Chaos was distracted Knuckles punched its face, peeling of the water layer before Sonic homed in on the exposed brain, hitting it.

Chaos melted apart in a puddle, though the two emeralds still were inside him. "NO!" Robotnik growled.

"Check!" Sonic said.

"What are you doing?" Robotnik asked.

"My mental checklist of the qualities of unoriginal villains. So far you've done monologues and boasting, and now the yelling of 'no' completed it. Congrats, you are an unoriginal villain!" Sonic joked.

"Ha-ha! Real funny, but you won't laugh anymore once I find the remaining emeralds and feed them to Chaos." Robotnik said. Chaos slithered away as Robotnik said: "Ah, he already has sensed where the next one is! Bye now!" Robotnik said as he and Chaos fled.

"Nice teamwork guys, you really worked well together to take down Chaos." Sally complimented the two.

"We kind of did…Well, thanks for helping, Knucklehead. I could have handled him myself, but you made things go bye much faster. I'm always in a hurry you see!" Sonic said.

"You keep telling me that, but I'm glad to be of use. If that liquid shows up again, I'll be there to help kick his can again. Up until then, I need to find the remaining Emerald shards." Knuckles said as he left.

"Bye Knux, and don't slack off, you need to keep up with me after all!" Sonic said.

Knuckles left…should he have told them of his visions? Nah, it's better making sure getting all the shards first and piece things together completely, that way it would make more sense and explaining things would be easier. Or would it?

He soon came across Vector, Espio and Charmy again. "Ah boss, there you are, where have you been? What have you been dreaming?" Vector asked.

"I saw that blue slime thing, Chaos again. Sonic and Sally were there too and we defeated it together." Knuckles explained.

"Without us?" Charmy asked a bit hurt.

"I couldn't wait, the beast had an innocent bystander in his grasp. And the beast could absorb the Chaos Emeralds, I saw it. I just hope Sonic and Sally can handle it from here. We need to fix that Master Emerald and lock Chaos back in." Knuckles explained.

"And what have you learned about your past?" Espio asked.

"I…I had a girlfriend." Knuckles said more sadly than ever. "I had a girlfriend and I didn't remember her…I had a mother and father and didn't remember her, and I had two siblings, and a bunch of great friends and I didn't remember them, what kind of person am I? How could I forget all that?" Knuckles said, losing his composure, punching a nearby rock wall and crying.

"Maybe the reason you don't remember has to do with the disappearance. Maybe you got hit on the head or something, that doesn't make it your fault." Vector stated.

"I hope so…I got no time to brood. Where would the next shards be?" Knuckles said.

"Heavy just handed us the info…they're in Chun-Nan." Vector said.

Espio looked uneasy at this. "I hoped it would have never come to this."

TO BE CONTINUED


	73. Knuckles' Adventure IV

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: ADVENTURE, KNUCKLES' STORY PART IV

Knuckles and the Chaotix would be finding the next set of shards of the Master Emerald in Chun-Nan. Of which Espio was the least happy to go to. After all, he had left behind his clan and his fiancée. He had honestly hoped not to run into any Shinobi.

"Come on, Espio. You knew you wouldn't be able to run away from it forever. Maybe this will be the time to reconcile with your mom and your girl." Vector said.

"Yeah, at least you have yours…I haven't got mine anymore. You should value what you have." Knuckles added.

"Maybe I should…but I'm scared. Will my mom be disappointed, feel disgraced, dishonored? Will she still want to recognize me as a son? And would Liza want me back?" Espio wondered.

"They love you, sure they'd like you back." Charmy assured them.

"I hope you're right…But let's find the shards first before we can worry about that?" Espio suggested.

"Fine then. Okay guys, the Emeralds are around here, move out." Knuckles said. The group splits up once more to find the shards.

Vector found a shard down a well and wanted to jump down to get it, but found himself getting stuck. He cursed and moaned as he tried to pull himself loose, which he found hard to do. But he eventually managed. He then noticed a bucket on a rope and a lever and smacked himself not for seeing it earlier. He lowered the bucket and scooped up the shard with it and pulled it back up.

Espio and Charmy had to go down a bar, where the shard was found by the bar owner and was set on display to show off to several customers. While Charmy distracted the bartender by 'asking for directions', Espio could use his ninja skills to snag it.

Finally Knuckles had to climb to the top of a roof to find his shard. But as soon as he picked up the shard, he was confronted by several Robian bats. Roboticized Yagyu, under Robotnik's control. Knuckles could easily smash apart a robot, but these were actual living beings, so he had to be careful.

One rushed forward, but Knuckles grabbed him and tossed him in another. One more morphed his hand into some type of gun, which fired a stream of shuriken, which Knuckles dodged by jumping up, kicking the Yagyu in the back of his head, and knock it off the roof. He then rammed the heads of the last two Yagyu together, knocking them out. "That was easy." Knuckles noted.

Knuckles jumped off the roof and floated down thanks to his wind-catching dreads and moved away, but then he saw the shards Espio and Vector had collected floating towards him. "And everything goes according to schedule." Knuckles noted. He braced himself, knowing what was about to come. The shards collided and he found himself being engulfed by the familiar lights.

As the lights died out, Nu'Kells saw the familiar scene of his family and friends again. Locke, Lara-Le, then newly hatched baby echidna and little brother Mace, Athair, To'od, Tikal, Remy and Kaz were all gathered around a table. Nu'Kells and Julie-Su, who now was dressed into robes of the Edmund tribe (and seemed a bit uncomfy to her) were speaking to them.

"Son…No one's more happy then me that you have found your soulmate. But a Nocturnus, not I have anything against her but you have to be aware of the risks. If Pachacamac found out about this we'd all be executed for high treason." Locke stated.

"I'm surprised the robes didn't show of any of her cybernetics." Athair added.

"Most of my cybernetics are internal, so not visible to the outside, I wanted to look as normal as possible. Talking about robes, aren't there any other ones, I hate dress-like robes. You didn't get any more comfy, like something the men wear?" Julie-Su responded.

"Unfortunately no, the females aren't allowed to wear any other robes or warrior gear in the tribe of Edmund. Pachacamac shouldn't think women belong on the battlefield." Lara-Le said.

"That son of a…now he's sexist too?" Julie-Su groaned.

"Nothing about that guy would surprise me anymore. But he hasn't done good to the tribe, he turned the tribe of free people in a tribe centered around power, traditions are screwed over, where the women are reduced to household and freedom gets limited. And the war is being driven too far. It has to stop." Nu'Kells stated.

"Unfortunately we are the only ones who are apparently smart enough to consider peace, or at least brave enough, they are afraid of Pachacamac. If only we could show there's nothing to be afraid off." Kaz suggested.

"Great idea. But how? We must find a way to remove him from power leaving him vulnerable. But to do so Tikal has to become the new chief and to do so, she has to marry. And Pachacamac determines which suitor she'll get, and it'd probably be one of his elite, making them puppet rulers under him." Athair said.

"I'll do it…I'll marry Tikal. We have been dating for a while anyway." Kaz said.

"You have been dating and you haven't told us about it? You sly dogs! I knew from the start that you two were hitting it off pretty good." Remy said.

"We wanted to tell…but then this 'meeting' came to order and we forgot." Tikal said blushing.

"If Kaz would marry Tikal that'd be ideal, but Pachacamac still can determine who marries his daughter, and he doesn't exactly like you, Kaz. He doesn't like pacifists who are fond of chao." Lara-Le said.

"Your friend Cobar studies law, doesn't he? He can find a loophole. There is no law without a loophole. I can know." Kaz suggested.

"How do weddings in the Edmund tribe take place? The Nocturnus don't exactly have ceremonies, and weddings with us are merely shortly exchanging vows and that's it!" Julie-Su asked curiously.

"Well..." Tikal said blushing. "First a high ranked member, chief, high priest or guardian must lead the ceremony. The couple exchanges vows, then get wedding bands around their arm. Then the two are left alone and…mate under the moonlight."

"Whoa…at least that's a lot warmer then Nocturnus ceremonies…very warm." Julie-Su said with a sly grin as she turned to Nu'Kells, who blushed.

"It would actually be ideal: Tikal and Kaz marry, they become the leaders of the tribe, and they dismiss Pachacamac' violent laws and promote peace between the Tribe of Edmund and the Nocturnus. Nu'Kells and Julie-Su's wedding would be a symbol for that union." Athair stated.

"It would be indeed…However, we have to do this very carefully and in babysteps. If we do and it would actually work…the echidnas finally will know peace." Locke stated.

"And a bright future will be ahead." Nu'Kells said as he took Julie-Su's hand. The two lovers looked at each other with a loving look in their eyes.

The scene shifted and in a flash of colors the scene has changed. Knuckles now saw a huge crowd, both members of the Edmund Tribe and the Nocturnus, though slightly begrudgingly they tolerated each other's presence. There was a ceremony of sorts going on from the look of things.

"I can't believe you agreed to this." A female voice sounded. Knuckles saw a female Nocturnus echidna with red fur, pink hair, a cybernetic dreadlock and blue eyes.

She spoke to an older red echidna, who had a cybernetic eye. "It would benefit both our people. We have lost too much in this war." Luger said to his daughter.

"The more reason we should wipe out that Edmund Tribe scum." Another echidna, with red fur, a cybernetic eye and arm said.

"We have taken each other's lives enough…if this war goes on, nothing will remain of the echidna race. I already lost your mother to this foolish war, and if any of you would fall, I wouldn't be able to take it. No, I want a better life for everyone. One they should not fear for their lives no more." Luger said.

"But father, we have devoted ourselves to this war, we have trained for all of our youth, and now the war is over, what are we going to make of this life?" the echidna girl asked.

"That will be up to you. You are both smart echidnas, you can discover some other talents you might have." Luger stated.

"Father, I still don't…" the echidna with the cybernetic eye said.

"Kragok! Lien-Da! I don't want to hear anything anymore, from any of you. Your sister is going to be married, you should be happy for her." Luger said, the two echidna's shutting up, but silently cursing under their breath.

Knuckles saw how the ceremony began. Tikal and Kaz, wearing different robes and headgear, indicating that they were now the new Chiefs of the Edmund Tribe, and the plan they had worked. Tikal spoke to her people and Nocturnus alike: "People of the Tribe of Edmund, and people of Nocturnus. Today will be a historical event. The bloodshed and slaughter of our tribes will end, no more families will be torn by this war, we shall know a time of peace and kindness, not of violence…and to symbolize this wonderful union, another union shall occur, between two young people, from two different tribes, that shall be united in marriage."

Nu'Kells and Julie-Su, both in different robes (and Julie-Su was allowed something different then a girly dress for the wedding). To'od came onto the scene, carrying two bands, which Julie-Su and Nu'Kells wrapped around their arms. These had to be wedding bands, similar to wedding rings in echidna culture. Knuckles pulled out something from under his robes: the same wedding band Nu'Kells was wearing…Knuckles had this band for ages, but due to his amnesia he never knew what it was for.

Nu'Kells spoke his vows to Julie-Su: "Julie-Su, our first meeting may be an awkward one, but there was no denying I knew from that day I loved you. I was slow to realize it but…I just love you, you're strong, you're passionate and you are just wonderful. I want to be yours forever."

Then, Julie-Su spoke her vows to Nu'Kells: "I'm not normally this sappy, but this is a special day. I remember that day too, the one we met. I felt it too, our Soul Touch, that wonderful feeling. You're strong, noble, humble and sweet. I love you, Nu'Kells and I want to be yours forever."

Lara-Le was crying tears of joy as she witnessed this occurrence, while Locke held up his chest with certain pride. To'od just looked bored (he's a kid after all) and Athair had a sweet smile on his face.

"Then by the power bestowed to me as High Priestess and Chief of the Tribe, I hereby declare you husband and wife! You can now kiss." The two kissed, with Nu'Kells' friends and family cheering the loudest, the rest just clapping politely, but reluctantly as well.

The scene then shifted a party of sorts after the ceremony. Tables with various dishes and drinks were served and the echidnas of both tribes tried to enjoy themselves. Though contact between both tribes were reluctant, they could see a few echidnas warming up to one another.

Julie-Su had pulled Nu'Kells along. "I'm going to introduce you to a few of my close friends." They came across two echidnas, one male and female. Both had orange fur and white stripes on their dreads. The female one had violet eyes and the male one green. "These are my cousin Meli-Ca and Martz."

"Please call me Shade!" Meli-Ca said as she politely shook Nu'Kells' hand.

"Nice meeting you. I must be thankful for this wedding. With this war over, I can finally achieve my dream of becoming an artist. I don't have to fight, just paint. The colors on the canvas, how they'll wipe away the sorrows of the past and brighten the futures." Martz said delighted and in a very poetic tone.

"They were one of the few who agreed on my ideas of peace at the start. They were immediately hooked." Julie-Su said.

"And for a reason, my parents and aunt were gone because of this war. My uncle, our Grandmaster has suffered because of that. That's why Julie-Su could get through to him. I'm glad she did." Shade said.

"My uncle Nestor lost his wife and son to the war as well…since then he kind of treated me as a son, especially because my own father, Grand Vizier Ix, has been too involved in this war to worry about me." Martz said a bit sad.

"My friend Tikal can say the same…but the power struggle is over and while there is still some friction…I must say that they interact much better than we thought." Nu'Kells said.

It was then that the clouds started fading and the light of the full moon washed upon them. "The moon is bright…it's time." Nu'Kells said.

"For what?" Shade asked, not knowing all details of Edmund Tribe Weddings.

"Now me and Nu'Kells must go to that hut up that hill…those are holy grounds said to be blessed by the Walker of Love herself. That's where newlywed couple mate, completing the union." Julie-Su said.

"Oh…well then, go and let your bodies be as one, like your hearts and souls already have been." Martz said.

With that, the newlyweds ran off. "Mommy, what are Julie-Su and Nu'Kells going to do in that hut?" To'od asked.

"Er…I'll tell that when you're older, dear!" Lara-Le said as she was rocking the infant Mace to sleep.

And with that, Knuckles found this world of memories fading once more as light engulfed it and he found himself waking up…oddly enough, he found himself waking up in something that appeared to be a room of Chun-Nan design. "Ah, you are awake." A chameleon said as he entered the room.

"Where am I?" Knuckles asked.

"In the hideout of the Shinobi. You had fainted sir, so we brought you and your friends here to rest. You seem all right now." the chameleon said.

"Good, where are my friends?" Knuckles asked.

"This way, sir. Follow me." The chameleon said as he helped Knuckles get up and he followed the chameleon to a room, where Vector and Charmy were waiting in front of the door.

"Hey boss! You're awake. What have you dreamt of this time?" Vector asked.

"I'm married!" Knuckles said flat out. He felt sad…the knowledge he was married, but his wife was taken from him, yet he didn't know how was to say the least, saddening.

"Oh…well…Espio is in there talking to his mom and girlfriend. We don't mean to eavesdrop but it's our buddy we're talking about." Vector explained.

Knuckles listened in alongside Charmy and Vector. They heard a female voice, the Bride of Constant Vigil, talk to her son: "Why are you so afraid, my son? Why did you have to run off?"

"I can't, mom…I just can't! I'm not made to lead. I can't bear the responsibilities. It's too much mom. I'd rather remain a warrior then be a Lord." Espio said.

"But…you are my first and only born, the title goes to you. It has been passed on for generations." Constant Vigil said.

"I don't want to have the title handed on me on a platter. I don't want to be just another Lord…that's what I'm expected to be. If I become Lord, I'll just be…the Lord! I won't be Espio anymore. Cause what you ask of me, isn't me." Espio said.

"You mean then, that everything you said, that you loved me, that you wanted to be with me…that it wasn't you either? Was it a lie?" Liza, being there in the room said, angered and saddened.

"I…er…yes. Or at least in the beginning. When we would be announced to be married off. I at first didn't want have anything against my will…but when I started to know you, it all changed, cause I fell in love with the real you…so I can't ask you to marry me, not if it means me becoming the Lord." Espio said. Liza didn't know what to say.

"Oh my son…what am I to do with you?" Constant Vigil wondered.

Knuckles had heard enough, and entered the room, despite protests from Charmy and Vector. "I'm sorry I'm just charging in…but I want to tell you something about your son. First, he's my friend. Second, he is a valuable member of the Chaotix. He can think on his feet and is strong, but also wise and calm. He keeps a level head while no one else can. That's why your son is a better warrior then leader."

Knuckles took a breath and continued: "While in my life my duties were passed down as well, mine were different. I chose to embrace my family line and continue, not for my family, but for myself, because I knew the people needed me. Espio chose to be a warrior because he knew they need him more as a warrior. He knows he's not the best choice to be a leader. Your son wants to make his own destiny, not determined. The question is if you will let him."

Constant Vigil looked funny at Knuckles, who continued: "Sure, you have your rules and traditions, I know about them. But times change. The clans are still at war, but they are now largely controlled by two madmen who formerly weren't involved. This is no longer a battle of the clans, but one for the world, and no one needs to stand alone. That's why Espio left, he needed to bring justice, the one thing you stand for, beyond Chun-Nan. And he helped us, the Chaotix, achieve that as we fought to fend off this threat. So you should be proud of what your son has done."

Finally Constant Vigil spoke: "You are right. I asked too much of my son, and didn't see what he wanted with his life. I must be a terrible mother."

"Nah, you genuinely worry about your son, believe me, I've seen what a bad parent is. You're not. Just be happy for your son." Knuckles assured her.

"Espio…I'm sorry. Our clan was too stuck in its world of traditions and rules, but we were locking ourselves away from the world outside Chun-Nan, even when the Hooded one and the Dark Being made themselves known. But that will change…we will stand with the rest of the world to fight for the freedom of everyone. And I'm glad you were the first one to do so. I want to ask of you to continue your duties with the Chaotix and be an ambassador for the Shinobi in the outside world?" Constant Vigil said.

"You really…I…yes mom, I will." Espio said, happy at the statement. "And mom…" Espio said as he moved towards his mom. "I'm sorry too!" he then hugged her, and mother returned the hug.

Espio then turned to Liza: "Liza…I'm sorry towards you. I must have hurt you, I didn't want to but I did. I hope you are willing to forgive me?"

"You are an idiot…but you're my idiot! I forgive you Espio. I know you probably have a mission out there…and I need to continue my mission here. But promise me that once this is all over, you come back to me and marry me, like you promised? Not the Lord part…but that you'll come back for me?" Liza answered.

"I will, my cherryblossom!" Espio said, as he and Liza kissed.

Vector, Charmy and Knuckles had seen this unfold, touched by it. Knuckles had said to Espio earlier: 'Be glad with what you still have.' Because he himself found no trace of his family or his friends from his past life. But he vowed one thing: He would find them, or find out what happened…

TO BE CONTINUED


	74. Knuckles' Adventure V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR: ADVENTURE, KNUCKLES' STORY PART V

Knuckles, Espio, Vector and Charmy had been tracking down shards of the emeralds in Soumerca and Chun-Nan so far…now they need to find some remaining shards in Downunda of all places. While Chun-Nan was a place of Espio's past, this place was one of Vector's.

"It has been a while. I didn't have much, but it used to be home." Vector muttered to himself. "I at least got some friends down the orphanage, and down at the police force when I was training to be a detective."

"Like any place it wasn't spared the wrath of the conquest of madmen like Benedict, Eggman and Robotnik." Espio said.

"But like every place it will be restored upon said madmen's defeat." Knuckles added.

"Er…let's find those shards shall we?" Charmy suggested.

This time the four stuck together as they found the three shards were all in the same place. It was the Great Crater, one of the most astonishing and mysterious places in Downunda. Nobody knew how the crater got there, but it used to be one of Downunda's biggest tourist attractions. They climbed down the crater and searched every square inch of it, which was no easy feat considering the hole was as big as an island. But on the other hand, they had a scanner

Charmy looked under a rock…he found the shard but there was a feral snake too who hissed at Charmy, who dropped the rock back. She thought on how she could retrieve the shard as she got an idea. She moved to the other side of the rock, lifted it and snagged the crystal before the feral snake could turn around.

Vector found his piece to be stuck in the ground. He flexed his muscles and tried to pull it loose, but couldn't do it as he panted, being exhausted from doing so. Espio grabbed one of his kunai, and pried the shard loose without effort. "I loosened it up for ya." Vector said.

Finally, Knuckles didn't have to look hard for his shard, as he just found it lying on the ground. He knew what would happen if he touched it, but he welcomed it more and more each time…even if just to see those figments of the past. The shard he touched summoned the other shards the others had collected.

Once again he welcomed the light that would erupt once the shards would meet and the visions of his past would return. He had hoped to see a happy ever after he had with his beloved and his family…but was he shocked when he was what he saw next.

There was a war that had erupted again, and not this time on the battlefield, in the middle of the Edmund Tribe's home. Nocturnus and the Edmund Tribe, at war again, this time worse than ever. Reality had hit Knuckles, as he briefly forgot there had to be a reason no more echidnas were left. He found his past self of Nu'Kells and Julie-Su trying to run and dodge all the spells and laser-blasts that were fired. The two hid as Nu'Kells spoke up: "No, this has gone all wrong."

"You mean something has gone absolutely right!" Pachacamac appeared before them. Which was odd, since Pachacamac was gone missing after his daughter's wedding.

"You…I should have known. You have restarted the war all over, you are responsible for this carnage. You assassinated Luger and put the tribes back at odds again." Nu'Kells said.

"I did no such thing, though I planned on doing so anyways. Though I did frame the Nocturnus for the death of the High Priest…" Pachacamac said insanely.

"We were at peace, we could finally live on, why did you had to ruin that? Why put the lives of your own people on the line for this?" Nu'Kells said angrily.

"What is a few lives on our part if it means purging the echidna race of those Nocturnus…no need to be angry, the Nocturnus would have turned against us anyways, it's in their nature. Who says your wife hasn't been messing with you all along, some part of some elaborate scheme…" Pachacamac explained.

"No, Julie-Su isn't like that…I know it. Because I love her, you never understood that, you only lived for power, it dominated your life, it became you…if power is all you live for, you have no life at all." Nu'Kells said.

"Naïve boy…love doesn't bring victory, love doesn't bring glory, love is something people imply but it is not real. Power is the only thing that matters. Good and evil…excuses! It's about those who is the most powerful." Pachacamac said.

"You're insane!" Julie-Su spat.

"Am I now?" Pachacamac said as he laughed insanely.

It was then that something hit the back of Pachacamac's head, knocking him out. It was Remy, holding a stick, joined by Shade and Martz. "Ugh, I thought he'd never shut up." Remy muttered.

"Guys, the deaths of Luger and the High Priest are both staged…and I think there are traitors on both sides." Nu'Kells stated.

"We know, we've been investigating. Not an easy feat since the whole place is getting torn apart by this war." Shade said.

"We managed to get your family to safety however. But the question is, if Pachacoo-coo here did kill the High Priest…who killed Luger?" Martz stated.

"That'd be us!" a voice replied. A group of Nocturnus walked onto the scene. They all looked awfully familiar. It were Kragok and Lien-Da, joined by an elderly albino echidna and…Vichama?

"You…you killed our own father? Why?" Julie-Su asked sadly to her siblings.

"He was no longer able to run the Nocturnus, his grief for our mom has left him unhinged. He talked about peace with the scum of the Edmund Tribe and would have made our tribe gone soft. We had to remedy that. We had to put him out of his misery. We had to take over as Grandmaster." Kragok said.

"We don't blame you sister…those Edmund Tribe are sly and sneaky, making you think they love you while they use you as a pawn to get to us, but they couldn't fool us. Now, Aman-Da…come back to us. We won't be mad. We'll forgive you this mistake." Lien-Da said as she reached out for her sister.

"My name is Julie-Su…and I'm not leaving. Whatever you in your deluded minds may think…Nu'Kells and I love each other, and I will never see you, the killers of my father as family again." Julie-Su shouted at them.

"The lies have been too deep. They damaged you beyond repair sister. I'm sorry we couldn't save you. So I guess we'll have to put you out of your misery." Lien-Da said, looking sad at what she had to do.

"Precursor Meli-Ca…cousin…you are still on our side are you?" Kragok asked.

"Martz, this is your father speaking. Come back to us, this instant." The albino echidna said to Martz. That was Ix, Grand Vizier of the Nocturnus and father of Martz.

"Go suck a lemon!" both Shade and Martz said angrily.

"Oh well, guess we have to dispose of them as well." Ix said like he didn't even care.

"I still don't understand how you are part of this, brother." Remy asked Vichama.

"Blood runs thicker than water, Remington. Ever wondered why mom never spoke about our dad? Kragok here is our pappy!" Vichama explained.

"M-m-my dad?" Remy said, freaking out.

"I was young and I had needs. I found your mom outside the village plucking berries. I had my way with her…well, I didn't realize life was so sacred to you Edmund Tribers that aborting unborn was forbidden. But hey I was so busy my whole life I couldn't get a heir, was I glad when I found the disgraced and banished Vichama and ran a DNA test." Kragok said.

"I'd ask you to join, but I know you, you'll refuse. You'd not be a good Nocturnus anyway." Vichama said.

"You got that right! Mom would be ashamed of what you've become…if she was still with us." Remy said as he took a battle stance. When the war had restarted, Remington's mom was one of the first victims.

"Who do you think ended her life?" Vichama bragged. Remington was even angrier now.

The heroes were ready to face the Nocturnus, but to their surprise the four were blasted by green energy blasts and knocked out before they could react. They saw Locke and Athair arrive on the scene.

"Dad, great-grandfather. You're supposed to be somewhere safe." Nu'Kells said.

"We were. Your mom and brothers still are. But we won't stand for the injustice Pachacamac and those Nocturnus we blasted have done." Locke said.

"It makes me feel young again." Athair said.

"Er…guys? They're making a run for it." Shade said as she pointed at Vichama, Kragok, Lien-Da, Ix and Vichama, who all had woken up and ran off.

"They're not running off, they're making their way to the Emerald shrine." Nu'Kells realized.

"They can't have them, we have to stop them." Athair said as the group of heroic echidna's went after them. However, a group of Nocturnus and Elite Warriors blocked their paths.

"Darn it…these ones are still loyal to Pachacamac." Remy growled.

"Let's move them out of the way, shall we?" Nu'Kells said as he smacked his fist into his palm.

As Pachacamac and the group of Nocturnus had dashed towards the shrine, they found their paths to be blocked by a single person. "Tikal, move aside!" Pachacamac said.

"No father, I won't! I will no longer tolerate anything. You have done too much horrible things: you use your people as cannon fodder, you draw all the power to you, you betray your own tribe to cause another war and now you want to use the power of these relics, which is forbidden, for your own gain, I won't tolerate it anymore." Tikal said angrily.

"Well said, babe! That means we get it, right?" Vichama said. Tikal replied by becoming angry and blast him onto his back. "I take that as a no?" Vichama asked dazed.

"I have let you walk over me for most of my life, but my friends and my beloved have given me the courage to finally stand up. You thought the High Priest thought me merely parlor tricks? No, despite your orders, he taught me all the magic he knew. He knew I would need it. And he was right. I shall not let you pass." Tikal said as her eyes glowed, she summoned a staff out of nowhere, which glowed with magic as she aimed it at Pachacamac and the Nocturnus group. "I won't let you abuse the power of the Emeralds."

"Who is going to stop us? You are alone against us." Lien-Da stated.

"No, she's not!" Kaz had appeared onto the scene, next to Tikal. He waved his hand and the water of the lake near the shrine rose up in the form of watery tentacles.

"Don't forget about us either!" Nu'Kells said as he and his group caught up. In the distance, some knocked out Nocturnus and warriors could be seen. "Elite, my ass. They were no match for us."

"This war, it'll end now." Julie-Su stated.

"For once…we all agree." Pachacamac said in a dark tone.

Then, all the groups, Nu'Kells, the tribe of Edmund, Pachacamac and the Nocturnus alike engaged in a fight.

But before Knuckles could see the fight going on, the bright flash once again appears and brought him back to the real world outside of the memories. "You are close, Nu'Kells…" a voice whispered in his ear before he woke up again.

"Hi boss, you're awake! Do I even want to ask what you've been dreaming about?" Vector asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Just tell me if you know where the last shards are." Knuckles answered.

"Well…Heavy and Bomb just passed us the info and…you are not going to be happy, but it's in one of the recharging stations of Robotnik's fleet." Espio said.

"Then that's where we going, lair of the beast or not." Knuckles said as he and his group left out for the said recharging station.

The recharging station appeared to be an temple of sorts, where the Robians and the Swatbots currently were loading supplies into the Swat Carrier. "Okay guys, the scanner says the shards are moving, which means that they're being uploaded in the flagship. I need to smuggle myself aboard to get them. You provide a distraction." Knuckles explained.

"You sure you'll be fine?" Charmy asked.

"Don't worry, I will. I'll get the shards, and then I'll get out." Knuckles assured them.

"Well…you're the boss." Vector said.

Later on, the Swatbots would react once the Chaotix rushed in and started trashing some robots (no Robians) and draw the attention towards them. This gave Knuckles the opportunity to stow away in one of the crates and being loaded in the ship.

Vector grabbed his headphones and blasted the Swatbots with sonic waves. "Please don't stop the music." He then fought the Swatbots up close, punching one, then grabbing another and toss it in another group of swatbots. Then he climbed onto some crates and dove into the robots, wrestler style.

Espio used his kunai to slash away at the Swatbots, cutting them clean in half. Some more came in but Espio performed a ninja trick, vanishing in a flock of leaves, leaving the Swatbots stumped before they all got knives in their head, courtesy of Espio being invisible.

Charmy used her electric gauntlet stingers to fry one Swatbot's circuit, then grabbed the blaster (which was huge for her) and fired at another Swatbot, being knocked back by the recoil of the gun. She tossed it aside and decided to just fry the circuits of the Swatbots.

While Knuckles was being loaded on board, the Chaotix found it was time to make their escape. "Espio, mission is a success, ninja smoke bomb please!" Vector whispered. Espio nodded and tosses a smoke bomb to cover their escape. The swatbots didn't find them anymore so they just decided to their posts. Soon after this, the Downunda Freedom Fighters would do the same thing to get Sonic and Sally aboard.

Inside the crate he was in, Knuckles waited for the right moment to pop out and get the Emerald shards back, peering through cracks in the box to see when that time would be… "The final shards…the Master Emerald will be restored, but I'll also know what happens to my people. Do I even want to know? But I can't let that creature run rampant…I have to put the world above myself once more. I have to be brave, and confront the past a final time."

TO BE CONTINUED


	75. Knuckles' Adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE: ADVENTURE, KNUCKLES' STORY PART VI

Aboard the ship, Knuckles crawled out as they would explore the ship, take it down from the inside and find the Emerald shards while he was it. As he crawled out, he carefully looked around them, as he bumped into someone and at first were startled, but then recovered quickly when they realized who it was. "Knucklehead, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked.

"I sensed some Master Emerald Shards on top of the Swat Carrier so I stowed away." Knuckles explained to Sonic and Sally, who also had stowed away in the cargo.

"You had the same plan as us, I think. Listen, if any of us runs into Chaos first, they should warn the others okay. I'll give you one of our communicators." Sally said as she handed one to Knuckles.

"Thanks. There is also something about Chaos you should know…every time I collect a set of shards, I start to recollect more and more of my past, and somehow this Chaos is part of it. The last time we met I didn't bother you with it since I didn't understand all at first, but I'm close to figuring it out…once I have the final shards I can finally piece it together." Knuckles explained.

"Then I wish you good luck. You were left in the dark for so long you deserve to know after all this time." Sally said.

"Thanks. Now let's get going, Chaos isn't going to defeat itself. Let's move out." Knuckles suggested. Sonic and Sally went to the left, Knuckles to the right.

Knuckles snuck around the ship, looking for the shards. He came across a room and listened in on a conversation. "So these are fragments of that Master Emerald. Each shard holds a considerable amount of Chaos Power as well…but we better keep those away from Ch'auzz, these things would seal him again if the guardian would find them all." Robotnik said.

"Er…boss, scanners detect several intruders on board. Whatcha gonna do about it?" Cubot asked Robotnik.

Robotnik brought several monitors on screen and saw Sonic and Sally sneaking around. "Oh, so they want to play it that way, don't they?" Robotnik said as he pushed a few buttons and the ship rocked, before it transformed, so Sonic and Sally wouldn't be able to go further. "You didn't think you get onto my ship unnoticed? Clever to stow away and mask yourselves, but the camera's never lie! Now, stay put as I prepare Chaos for his next transformation, so he can eradicate you. But have a few playmates amuse you in the mean time." Robotnik said through the intercom. "Now, let's prepare Ch'auzz for the next phase. Leave the auto-pilot on!"

Orbot and Cubot dialed away on the controls of the airship before they, Elise and Robotnik left the room through another door. Robotnik had put the emeralds in a vault behind his portrait in the control room, and Knuckles has seen that. First Knuckles would dial away at the airship, messing up the autopilot a bit and then transform the ship back to original state to help Sonic and Sally. Then he'd turn to Robotnik's vault. The code has to be something one wouldn't expect of Robotnik. Knuckles deduced the code had to be 'Freedom Fighters' as he dialed in the code. That unlocked the vault and the shards.

The shards started to glow as they came in contact with Knuckles, who knew what was going to happen. "Now you'll finally know!" a voice whispered in his ear as Knuckles found himself back to that faithful day.

He found himself back on that battle near the emerald shrine. Nu'Kells, Julie-Su, Remy, Tikal, Kaz, Locke, Athair, Shade and Martz would find themselves against Lien-Da, Kragok, Ix, Vichama and Pachacamac. The Nocturnus and Pachacamac's elite who were knocked out earlier had recovered and rejoined their masters.

Nu'Kells rushed forward and delivered the first punch to Kragok's face, who staggered back before backhanding Nu'Kells with his cybernetic hand. Kragok morphed his arm into a blaster as Nu'Kells ducked under it and uppercuts him. Kragok fired a blast from his cybernetic eye, grazing Nu'Kells' shoulder, but it didn't stop our hero as he rushed at Kragok, lifted him up and tossed him into a tree.

Lien-Da lashed with her whip, as Julie-Su jumped aside to dodge. She pulled out a Leechblade and jumped at Lien-Da, who tried to dodge but got slightly cut at the cheek. This angered Lien-Da as she lashed with her whip and wrapped it around Shade's neck, slowly choking her as she pulled. Julie-Su cut the whip with her Leechblade however. Julie-Su kicked her sister in the stomach. But Lien-Da grabbed her by the dreads and kneed her in the face. But Julie-Su recovered and punched her sister in the face. She then delivers a roundhouse, knocking her over.

Remy fought his brother Vichama. Remy rushed at Vichama, who just held out his hand and held him back as Remy lashed with his fists, not hitting Vichama. Vichama then pushed his brother on the ground. He then raised his fist and tried punching Remy, who dodged aside, then bit Vichama's arm. Vichama screamed in pain as Remy then started punching Vichama. He kept repeatedly punching him, leaving no chance to fight back as one final punch finally took down Vichama. "Who's number two now?"

Pachacamac raised his spear at his own daughter and charged at her. Tikal waved her hand, and his spear transformed into a feral serpent, which Pachacamac quickly tossed aside. He then rushed at Tikal and slapped her across the face. He then uses this moment of distraction to grab her by her hair and pull it. Tikal however charged up a spell in her hand and used it to knock back Pachacamac. Pachacamac grabbed his stomach as the spell did something weird, as he spat out several Feral butterflies, which flew off. Tikal then used another spell to lift her dad into the sky and toss him away.

Kaz used his water control to create several water tentacles, grabbing the Nocturnus and tossing them around. One Nocturnus was repeatedly smacked into the ground, another few were knocked into another. Several others were just tossed away.

Locke faced Ix, who had a staff. Ix lashed with his staff, but Locke jumped over it, flipped in the air and landed behind Ix, before kicking him. Locke was still fast for his age. He then punches Ix in the face two times, before grabbing his staff and whack him on the head with it. "I still got it."

Athair was surrounded by some Nocturnus, who thought the old man would be easy as they rushed at him. But Athair surprised them when he used his cane to smack them around with more speed and agility his old frail form would suggest as he went Yoda on their butts.

Shade grabbed her Leechblades, while Martz pulled out a Leechsaber. They rushed at Pachacamac's elite. One tried to lash with a spear, which Martz cut in half before stabbing his shoulder and drain enough of his energy to knock them out. Shade rolled forward and stabbed two Elites in the knee, drained their power and knocking them out, before she got up, jumped in the air and delivered a double kick, knocking two more out. Martz plants his Leechsaber into the ground and swings around it like a pole, knocking over some more.

"Did I mention that you look radiant when you fight like that? Like a tigress, graceful but deadly." Martz said in his usual poetic tone.

"Flatter me later, the fight isn't over yet." Shade said.

Nu'Kells held Kragok's arm twisted behind his back, hurting him. Meanwhile Kaz held Pachacamac in one of his watery tentacles. "Tell them the truth! Tell everyone what you've done!" Nu'Kells threatened.

"You won't kill me…it's not in your code." Kragok said smugly.

"There are worse things than death." Nu'Kells assured him.

Kragok felt how his cybernetic arm was being pulled apart by Nu'Kells as his organic one was broken. "Argh! Okay…I DID IT! I KILLED MY FATHER TO START THIS WAR ANEW!" he said, loud enough to be heard by anyone on the battlefield.

"Now you…" Kaz said as the watery tentacle around Pachacamac tightened.

"Argh! I KILLED THE HIGH PRIEST, NOT THE NOCTURNUS!" Pachacamac admitted.

The confession of both leaders shocked the echidna's on the battlefield, who immediately dropped their weapons and felt devastated at the damage they've done. "You see what fighting has led us too? You become consumed by it, by the fighting itself, you become the war. Kragok and his sister, as well as our own Pachacamac, they couldn't be anything but warmongers. It has twisted them, they kill their foes and their allies alike if it means continuing this war…

For what? For two bickering of brothers ages ago? Don't you get it? Those brothers were the founders of the tribes, we are all descendants of those brothers. But we shouldn't continue what they started. We are one. If you think the cybernetics and the uniforms away…we look the same, we are all echidnas. We are wiping one another out, while we should preserve our race. The separation of Nocturnus and Edmund Tribes are a lie, we are but one race, the echidnas." Nu'Kells said.

There was some murmuring amongst the crowd of echidnas as they tossed aside their weaponry. They then started to spout apologies and shed tears as the two tribes hugged brotherly. "No, you're ruining it! You're ruining it all." Pachacamac said angrily.

One of Pachacamac's elites woke up and grabbed a gun from a Nocturnus warrior and used it to shoot the watery tentacle that held Pachacamac, releasing him. Pachacamac smiled evilly as he dashed for the Emerald shrine. Several chao stood in his way and advanced on him. They bit any part of his body they could bite, but Pachacamac only got angry as he pulled them off him and tossed them into walls and pillars, or crushed them in his hands.

"No!" Kaz said as he created more watery tentacles to grab him, but Pachacamac was still fit for his age and dodged the tentacles. He got to the Emeralds and jumped on top, trying to take in the power of the emeralds…But Kaz became angry as he himself turned liquid (?) and rushed at Pachacamac, wrapping his watery form around him.

"Yargh! Who are you?" Pachacamac asked as he was engulfed at the same time he took the Chaos energy.

"I am the husband of your daughter, the father of the chao, the Walker of Water, I am Ch'auzz!" Kaz said.

Knuckles saw the scene fading into another. He saw Tikal talk to Kaz…or Ch'auzz to be exact. It was somewhere before their wedding. "Tika-Al…my love. I need to admit one thing to you. I'm not whom I said I was. I am not Kaz, the mere echidna. I am…Ch'auzz." Kaz said as he turned into his true form, that of an echidna made of water.

"You…a Walker, the god of water. It explains your powers and the fondness of the chao. You're their guardian and father." Tikal said surprised. "But why would you come down to the plane of mortals, other Walkers don't do that." Tikal said.

"I do not agree with the methods of my fellow walkers. They watch and observe, but don't act. They have distanced themselves from the mortals they watch over. I wanted to remedy that. But I never expected to fall in love…you were so wonderful, so pure, so true, so kind…and how you show affection to my children sealed it. I have felt better in the time spent with you, then the thousands of years I was alive." Ch'auzz assured her.

"But…what will happen if we marry?" Tikal asked.

"I marry you out of love, not because I want to be a chief. I already stood above the mortals long enough. You are what they need, a kind and true leader…but I digress. If we marry there are two options: you achieve godhood like me…but you'll have to take a place amongst the Walkers, and forced to merely observe, not help your people directly. Or I'll gradually lose my powers and become mortal." Ch'auzz explained.

"But, if you become mortal, you know what will happen." Tikal warned him.

"I know. But a life without you, eternal or not, would feel empty. I don't need the power or the prolonged life, I need your love…if you still want me." Ch'auzz replied.

"I do. If you're still the man I love on the inside behind that watery body, then you are still mine." Tikal assured him.

The scene faded again as we got back to Pachacamac and Ch'auzz wrestling on top of the Master Emerald…which, alongside the Chaos Emeralds, started to act funny with the power struggle between the two. The chaos energy engulfed both, as well as a whole lot of water from the nearby lake; engulfing them in a whirlpool of chaos energy and water…and creating something horrible.

It was huge, reptilian, existed out of water and from the roar it cried out…it was nothing more than feral. From its giant maw it shot out a huge energy blast and with it, destroyed one of temples of the island. Echidnas of both tribes ran around screaming in terror. The creature spouted several watery tentacles and began lashing around with them violently.

The heroes and the baddies alike ran and hid from the attack, with the exception of Grand Vizier Ix, who tripped and ended up crushed to an albino pulp by one watery tentacle. Martz knew he should care since it was his dad…but truth was Ix was never much of a father figure.

"Ch'auzz, please, it's me." Tikal begged to the creature, but Nu'Kells had to pull her out of the way avoid her getting crushed by the creature. "He's not in there anymore…" she said sadly.

Nu'Kells now tried to charge at the creature, but got swatted by one of his huge tentacles and knocked back. Nu'Kells knew that with the Emeralds fueling that creature he would be no match for him.

But Tikal saw the Master Emerald was still in the shrine behind the creature. She didn't hesitate. She jumped on top of it and chanted: "The servers are the seven chaos…chaos is power, enriched by the heart…the controller serves to unify the chaos…" Tikal chanted.

"Tikal, what are you doing?" Nu'Kells asked.

Tikal didn't reply and instead the Master Emerald glowed with a bright green light. The green light engulfed the entire echidna kingdom, the liquid creature born from Ch'auzz' wrath and Pachacamac's madness roaring out in pain as the light engulfed them.

Nu'Kells woke up later, he found the ruins, the entire kingdom, empty. Everyone was gone. "Mom? Dad? Bro? Great-grandfather? Julie-Su? Remy? Anyone?" Nu'Kells shouted. Nu'Kells called out, but no one was there. "They can't be gone…they can't!" Nu'Kells said in denial as he shed some tears.

"Nu'Kells…" a voice said to him. Nu'Kells looked up to see Tikal, only she was green and transparent.

"Tikal? Is that you? Are you…you know?" he asked.

"I'm not alive, but I haven't moved on, I just reached a different plane of existence, and understanding. I attempted to stop the corrupted Ch'auzz by sealing him away in the Emerald…but Ch'uazz took the souls of every echidna down with him, and cast their bodies in stasis in the Chaos force itself. You are the last one." Tikal explained.

"So you mean my family…my friends, my tribe…my wife, all gone? Can't we bring them back?" Nu'Kells asked.

"No, not at this moment. The Chaos force has been damaged by this event, and it needs to heal. It may take eons to do so." Tikal said sadly.

"But I won't live for eons. What's the use of being the last one if you can't be with the ones you love?" Nu'Kells said.

"There is a way…I'll use the Emerald's power plus my remaining energy to erect the kingdom in the sky, where the Master Emerald can lie undisturbed…until the Chaos force has healed itself and is allowed back on the surface world. As for you…you'll have to be put to a deep sleep, only to awaken when the time comes for our people to be restored. Though I must warn you, time shall not be kind on your memories." Tikal explained.

"What choice do we have…hey, where are the Chaos Emeralds in fact?" Nu'Kells asked.

"The Emeralds have been cast in another plane of existence until the time is right. I kept a single one who should keep the island afloat, while the Master Emerald will lie undisturbed in an underground chamber until you recover it and the healing can begin." Tikal explained.

"There's no other way?" Nu'Kells asked. Tikal shook her head. "Then put me to sleep, and let the future be kind to us." Nu'Kells said.

"Very well…good night my brother. Until later." Tikal said as she cast a spell on Nu'Kells, who became trapped in a green bubble, floating inside it, sound asleep. "Now I must rest as well…inside the emerald alongside the lost souls…" Tikal said as her spiritual form entered the Master Emerald, which sank away under the earth, to where many years later it would be dug up by Eggman…On the shrine now rested a single Emerald, the grey one…

Knuckles then woke up, founding himself back in the real world…and he remembered, he remembered all, not just what the flashbacks had showed, but every detail: his childhood, how he broke his leg when younger, what his father liked for lunch, Julie-Su's softspots, his whole life, it had came back to him like that. Knuckles knew there was no time to waste…

Knuckles climbed upwards onto the deck, where he saw across Robotnik, joined by Orbot, Cubot and Elise. They were confronted by Sonic, Sally, Amy, Lily and a robot Knuckles' didn't know but was also ready to fight Eggman. Probably another robot with Heavy and Bomb's syndrome. "No, who gave the order to reconfigure the ship back to its old state?" Robotnik said angrily. So that's what that lever did

"I dunno, Boss! Guess there's anotha joik on board who found the lever." Cubot said, still in his mobster Brooklyn accent.

"Someone called?" Knuckles said as he also arrived on the scene. "You didn't think I was going to miss the party, did I?" Knuckles kept up the tough façade, but looked sadly at Ch'auzz. "I'm sorry that I'll have to do this my friend." He thought.

"Not at all, there's enough butt in 'Buttnik' to be kicked!" Sonic said.

"Er…don't you think it'd be a good idea to call Chaos, sir?" Orbot asked.

"Right, good I thought of that. Chaos, come here!" Robotnik said as he pulled out two more Chaos Emeralds, the yellow and cyan ones. Chaos rose up once it sensed the emeralds, and Robotnik tossed them into the creature. It started to transform once more, now into a spider/frog-esque creature with a scorpion-like tail.

"Now I'll finally get rid of some of my least favorite people: the leaders of the Freedom Fighters, the guardian, that traitor Gamma, the princess of Mercia and the girl who wished she'd still be roboticized. Chaos, suppertime!" Robotnik said.

"When will he learn, you can throw him at us as many times as you like, but you can't defeat us. Come on, Freedom Fighters…and robot. Let's show them what we're made off!" Sonic said as the six heroes charged at Chaos 6.

Chaos starts by lashing with his tail, trying to swipe at our heroes, but they all were fast enough to dodge. Sonic tried to home in on the beast, but it's liquid skin has become so strong thanks to the new emeralds he bounces of him. "Okay, he couldn't do that last time!"

Amy fired her arrows, Lily her explosive darts and Gamma fired his gun, but it still only made it's skin ripple, but nothing much else. Knuckles tried to punch him but he bounced of it, and Sally's scythe couldn't cut through it either. Chaos then fired lightning, which the heroes again barely dodged. "Okay, this time he might actually prove a problem." Knuckles stated.

"Let's spice up things a bit more. Let's help Chaos out directly, shall we?" Robotnik said as he and Elise jumped down on the battle field as Orbot and Cubot mounted Robo-mobiles with various weaponry.

"Not good…" Sally said as Elise advanced on her. Meanwhile Robotnik turned to Sonic of course as the robot that was with them fought Orbot and Cubot's Robo-Mobiles.

Knuckles would be helped by Amy and Lily. Knuckles shot forward, dodging Chaos' tail as he punched it, knocking it off, but it just grew back as Chaos lunged forward and charged into Knuckles, knocking him away. Amy and Lily grabbed arrows and projectiles, and tossed it at his eyes, hoping that'd work, but it only dazed him before his eyes regrew as well. "Okay, tough customer." Knuckles muttered.

Chaos fired lightningbolts from his eyes, but Knuckles and the girls dodged. Knuckles then charged forward and punches Chaos in the face several times, knocking it back, before Lily and Amy pelted it's face with their projectiles. It only made him angrier as he roared and knocked the trio over with his tail.

He raised his tail again, ready to finish them. But then something shot at Chaos and froze him like an icicle. Knuckles turned around to see that they had hijacked one of the Robo-Mobiles and had fired the ice beam at him. "Okay guys, now give it everything you got!" Sally warned.

"All right!" Sonic said as he spin-dashed into Chaos, breaking one part of its icy body and the blue emerald falling out.

Amy was next, fires and arrow that breaks another part and the purple emerald flies out.

Lily throws an explosive dart that blows up another part, the cyan emerald dropping out.

Knuckles punched one of the remaining part, and the grey emerald flung out.

Finally Sally destroyed the last piece of the icy Chaos and the yellow emerald came out as it shattered.

The heroes picked up the emeralds, as Sonic mocked: "You lose Buttnik!"

"No! Chaos was supposed to be invincible…but no matter, I still got my…" Robotnik moaned.

"Ship!" Orbot said.

"Yeah, that's right."

"No, ship!" Orbot said as he pointed at another airship next to them, Benedict's in fact (the Vulpin), ready for a collision course.

"Oh crud!" Normally Robotnik piloted the flagship with his own computer-like mind, but he wouldn't be able to react in time since he was so close to the Vulpin now, and he hadn't seen it coming due to Benedict's own cloaking tech and the fact he had been distracted.

The two ships collided head-on, rocking both and making our heroes drop the emeralds, which went overboard due to the rocking of the ships. "I thought Benedict was a better pilot then that!" Sally said.

"I think our buddy Tails might have thrown off the flagship like we did for this one…Now it seems is a good time to leave. But how?" Sonic asked.

"I can glide, and the robot has a jetpack, Lily has that flying board…but I don't think the rest of you can fly or anything." Knuckles said.

"The damage to these Robomobiles was minimal, I can still fix them up real quickly…" Lily said as she pulled out a spanner and a screwdriver and quickly tinkered with them. "They aren't perfect, but at least we should get to solid ground now." Lily said.

"Okay everyone, now let's bail!" Sonic said as he and Sally boarded the first Robo-Mobile and Amy the second. The remaining heroes just flew or glided safely towards the ground as the airships behind them headed towards the ground.

However, Orbot and Cubot could fly, Elise had a hoverboard Lily built her while still roboticized and Robotnik still has his hover platform. They also flew off safely. "Oh drat, there goes my flagship…oh well, I'll just convert one of my fleet's ship into a new one, I still got the knowledge that bluebird gave me about Battle Bird Tech. But first, I need to find those emeralds and Chaos, who went overboard earlier…" Robotnik moaned.

The heroes landed safely somewhere in the jungle. And as luck would have it, they found the Chaos Emeralds who fell off the flagship. Each of them picked up one of the Emeralds. "Good things they can't be destroyed by being dropped from the sky." Sonic stated.

"Well, Chaos is down and without emeralds, he should be easy to find and disable right now." Sally stated.

"Oh right, about him, there's something I wanted to tell…" Knuckles stated, but he was cut off when Elise on her hoverboard rushed by and swiped the grey Chaos Emerald from him.

"At least we won't go away empty-handed." Elise said.

"Come back here…Amy, you and Lily hold on the emeralds, me and Sal will go after her. Knuckles, your story must wait, you can restore the Master Emerald in the mean time." Sonic said as he and Sally rushed after them.

"Is it ever going to stop?" Knuckles moaned.

Oh well…Knuckles had waited for the truth for so long…he could wait until Sonic and Sally got back to tell it to everyone. But one thing was sure: they would be shocked to hear this terrible truth.

TO BE CONTINUED


	76. Nicole's Adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX: ADVENTURE, NICOLE'S STORY PART I

It has been two weeks…two weeks that our heroes have forced to hide in the force field dome of their city for two maniacal conquerors. The reincarnated Eggman now going by the alias Dr. Robotnik, as well as the regenerating cyborg fox Benedict. And both have caused casualties. Julayla and Namgge were dead, and Lily was roboticized.

Nicole, a Freedom Fighter turned AI, was working on a project for herself. Using some data she stole of Eggman and Adam, she started to build her very own body. It was slightly based on Metallix data, as the Metallix could copy one's data. Using that a base to copy her organic form would do. Though some extra's would be added.

Though she had to rush the construction of her current form drastically, so she only installed what she deemed would be necessary for her mission…wait, now we're getting ahead of ourselves.

It started when the city was under attack, as something blue and liquid managed to penetrate the shields of the city and cause havoc, hurting Sonic's uncle in the progress, sneak into an Eternity Ring and destroy the Special Zone. The Emeralds were scattered across the globe and the team has split up to retrieve them.

Sonic and Sally had gone to Soumerca, Tails and Fiona to Chun-Nan and Amy…well she ran off on her own so they don't know where she was heading. She would probably do something stupid and desperate to save Lily. But the recent events have divided their attention and they couldn't deal with all their problems at once.

However, that was the least of the troubles. Bunnie was ill, she was dying. Her cybernetic limbs didn't go well with her organic parts anymore. Removing the implants and replace them with donors, coupled to her NIDS (which was only suppressed by the cybernetics) and the high risks of any operation…would make it nearly impossible for her to come through.

But Nicole wouldn't give up. She remembered that when they were in Robotnik's slave camp when he was known as Eggman, Bunnie always protected her, watched her as a sister…now she would try anything to save her. But how?

Nicole had figured it out soon after the others had left on their mission. In order for Bunnie to heal…heal was the keyword, and heal brought up an image in Nicole's cybernetic mind. Her photographic memory allowed her to replay a clip of how Benedict managed to regenerate after being blasted apart. Benedict must have a secret, an invention, anything…the thing that gave him that healing factor is what can save Bunnie.

If she can get her hands on that cure, she can help restore Bunnie's organic form…the organs and limbs she lost can be reformed. Nicole doesn't know how far the cure goes, but it might cure her NIDS as well…if not, she has a backup plan. But to get that cure she would take many risks.

Nicole had made some changes, aside from the obvious ones. Being trapped in a data form for some time has provided her with great intelligence, and a more logical mind. But for once the humane side of her would win against those as she would want to risk it all to sneak into Benedict's airship and get that cure…for Bunnie.

In her digital realm, her avatar resembling her organic lynx form pulls some levers made of data, as a matter of the flying droid body she inhabited now: a flying tv screen with some arms attached. But with this new body her movements will feel…well, at least move a lot better and life-like then her current form.

Her droid body put a final piece into place, before it pulled out a wire and connected itself to it. In Nicole's digital realm, the levers disappeared and a portal of sorts appeared in front of her. She jumped through, and in something that felt like going through a rollercoaster ride…

She woke up…in the world outside the digital realm. In her new body. She studied the new body thoroughly…now she had downloaded herself into it, the Metallix parts had responded and it looked a lot like her organic form did. She looked Robian at the moment, but the shape and coloring looked close to her organic form. But to make herself completely look Mobian, she needed more time, but she didn't have that.

Afterwards she got up, and walked out of the room. She passed Tails' lab and got one of the devices one can use to get past the shields. She would go out and look for the cure. "Where does Nicole thinks she's going?" Nicole turned around to see not only Muttski, but Cosmo, Rotor and Dulcy as well. "Muttski must compliment Nicole on the body, but that doesn't mean Nicole has to strike out by herself." Muttski said.

"I just…I need to fetch a cure for Bunnie and I know where to find it. Benedict must have something that created his regenerative abilities, I must find out what it is, it is the only thing that can save Bunnie!" Nicole stated.

"We all want Bunnie to heal, but you're supposed to be a smart girl! And going out by yourself isn't smart. What are you thinking, Nicole?" Cosmo asked.

"We know you and Bunnie are close, but endangering yourself recklessly like that won't do her any good." Rotor added.

"But there's something I need to do to help her." Nicole stated.

"Yeah, but at least don't go alone. You need someone to go with you. Your body is impressive, but rushed." Rotor stated.

"I will go." Dulcy said.

"Dulcy…does this have to do with…your predicament? You want to hear an answer from Benedict about you or something?" Cosmo asked bluntly.

"You suggest I do this for myself, not for Bunnie?" Dulcy asked.

"No, we know you care about her as much as we do, but this is Benedict we're talking about, the clone master?" Cosmo answered.

"She can come along. If you let me go, why shouldn't she of all people come. We are both having a hard time with what happened recently." Nicole said.

"Maybe it's safer I go instead." Rotor suggested.

"No, with Tails and me out there, you're the only other one smart enough to operate the defense systems of the city. Your brains are needed here." Nicole warned.

"What prevents us from letting Rotor go but keeping you here?" Cosmo asked.

"I'm the best hacker, if there is a cure, I can rip it out of Benedict's database." Nicole stated.

"Point taken…but Muttski still feels he should worry. Maybe another person should join Dulcy and Nicole?" Muttski stated.

"I will do that!" Antoine enters the room, looking determined. "If there is a cure for ma chèrie, I want to find it too." Antoine said.

"Not to be disrespectful Antoine, but what if Bunnie's close to…don't you want to be there with her?" Cosmo asked.

"If there is a sign of her getting worse…warn me and I'll come back in time for her. But now I want to be 'le chevalier noble' she believed me to be and do anything to save her. I do not want to sit and do 'rien'!" Antoine said.

Rotor sighed… "I guess we can let them go out." Rotor stated.

"Is that such a great idea? You know that emotionally…" Cosmo stated.

"We all are emotional. It won't matter who goes. Let's put some faith in our friends that they'll do what's right." Rotor replied.

"All right then…Mind if we borrow the Freedom Fighter special for this one?" Nicole asked.

"That would be a little too generous…but Isaac has provided us with a few other planes. You can take one of those." Rotor stated.

"That will do." Dulcy said.

"Er…Muttski isn't the smartest, but how is Nicole going to find Benedict? Benedict doesn't want to be found when Benedict doesn't want to. Benedict is smart enough to cloak such a big airship." Muttski stated.

"Simple, I recovered small amounts of data of the wrecked Fox Fighters, and I discovered a signal, the same signal all of Benedict's tech has. So even if the airship is cloaked, it should let out a small signal." Nicole explained.

"How do you differ the airship from any random Fox Fighter?" Rotor asked.

"Simple, Benedict's airship moved way faster. If we follow that fast signature, we'll be able to track it. Then we sneak aboard, grab the data with the cure and then we're out." Nicole said.

"You make it sound 'facile'." Antoine stated.

"Too bad it isn't easy. But when is it ever?" Nicole replied.

"If you will excuse me…I have to go and say 'au revoir' to Bunnie." Antoine said as he left the room.

"I don't think Bunnie will be able to hear Antoine in Bunnie's current state." Muttski noted.

"It's important to him, so let him. Now, we need to get a lock on the signal and determine its course…" Nicole said as she looked at a small computer in her arm. "Our first target is Soumerca…Cat Country unfortunately."

"In the middle of Benedict's Legion chapter? Oh well, bring them on!" Dulcy said.

"Dulcy…be please be careful. I still want you to come back to me…you know that it doesn't matter to me that…" Rotor said worried.

"I know. I will come back." Dulcy assured him, as the lovebirds hugged.

"Muttski, Cosmo, do your best to help Rotor watch over the city, okay?" Nicole asked.

"Muttski will!" Muttski said, saluting in his wacky manner.

"Me too. You can count on us." Cosmo said.

"Good…now excuse me, I'm going to talk to my mom first." Nicole said as she also left the room.

Later that day, Antoine, Dulcy and Nicole would use one of Isaac's planes and make it to the skies, searching for the cure…to save Bunnie!

TO BE CONTINUED


	77. Nicole's Adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN: ADVENTURE, NICOLE'S STORY PART II

Last time, Nicole, Antoine and Dulcy set out with one thing in mind: track down Benedict. In his regenerative abilities lies the cure for the very ill Bunnie. They had tracked down Benedict to one of his Fox legion chapters in Soumerca…Cat Country. The Felidae had aligned themselves with Benedict after the death of Queen Hathor…with some exceptions.

The three have taken one of the spare planes that Sally's stepfather helped constructing. It was basic, but could do the job. They landed and parked the plane near the edge of the jungle and got out. "Okay guys…One of Benedict's legion chapters is around here, Benedict is probably checking up on the progress, so we have to be careful." Nicole warned.

The trio snuck through the jungle in search of stuff. They hid in the bushes when a couple of Felidae walked by, so they decided to silently follow them. After tailing the Felidae for a while, they saw the former Wolf Pack Temple, now one of Benedicts evil bases. They saw loads of cyborg felines working, and some Wolf Pack members that were captured performing slave labour.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Antoine asked.

Nicole's optics changed colors as she scanned them. "We can't…they didn't get cybernetic upgrades, but they got the same cherry bombs the Legion has…even if we save them, Benedict or his Grandmasters can detonate the cherry bombs. If only I could get my hand on one, I could block out the signal and find a way to disable them." Nicole noted.

"Can't we just take one out and abduct them?" Dulcy asked.

"If we take one too far away from the base, a self-destruct will initiate to prevent us from gaining any info. Benedict knew what he was doing when he designed those explosives." Nicole said.

"It's not fair, Benedict 'as to make a living Hell out of their lives." Antoine said.

"I know, but there's nothing I can do. But if we get onto his airship, I might not only be able to recover that cure, but the blueprints of the cybernetics as well." Nicole said.

"Let's hope so, I feel sorry for those wolves." Dulcy stated.

Nicole shifted her optics to a mode that functions as binoculars and allowed her to see long distances. She looked around and she saw Benedict talking to Razorklaw, the grandmaster of the Felidae. "I can see him. The Big boss himself. Now if only I could…" Nicole said as she dialed on buttons underneath her robotic ears.

"With the new device we'll be able to use the weather of the Great Unknown to our advantage. Lightning is ours to command, no one else's." Razorklaw said.

"I hope for you that it works, cause those wolves now got resources from GUN itself, and we don't want our enemies to become stronger, do we? We don't want them to take back the territory we worked so hard to get." Benedict said.

"We'll not let that happen." Razorklaw assured him.

"For your sake, I hope you do or there is a little cherry in your head that will go pop!" Benedict warned.

"The lightning cannon is already brought to the Great Unknown for battle. We hope to fry some wolves in the progress." Razorklaw said.

"No matter how much I wish to see that, I still have some Emeralds to find. Now go and oversee the destruction of the Wolf Pack, while I attend to some personal business." Benedict said as he left.

"The cats are going to use a device to manipulate the lightning storms in the Great Unknown, they can wipe out the wolves if they're successful…" Nicole explained.

"But what are we going to do, go after Benedict or save the wolves?" Dulcy asked.

"I want to help Bunnie, but we can't just let the wolves die. Wait…" Nicole said as she adjusted her optics and shot out something from her hand. It was small but is rushed away as it attacked itself to the bottom of Benedict's boot. "So…we can still keep track of Benedict, while helping the wolves. Now let's move!" Nicole said.

The heroes rushed off to the Great Unknown, the wastelands outside the jungle. They remained hidden most of the time. They found themselves on top of the rocky cliffs. They saw a group of Felidae fight the Wolf Pack down below.

"I see the wolves, and they're kicking butt. But where is that device?" Nicole wondered. Nicole looked around and saw from another part of the cliff several Felidae with a huge cannon. "I see it, let's disarm it!" Nicole said.

"Ah oui, attaque!" Antoine said as the trio rushed at the group of Felidae, who didn't see our heroes in time.

Nicole kicked one of the cats with her metal foot, knocking it out. Two more rush at her, but she then morphed her hands into blasters and blasted the two with stunning beams. She fired at several more, but then the weapons overheated (she had rushed her body after all) so she shifted back to hands and instead started punching them.

Dulcy created fire from her gauntlet, melting the cybernetic legs of a Felidae, making it fall flat on his face. Several more arrived, but Dulcy blew them off with a gust of wind. Two more rushed at her, but they were getting too close to aim her elemental attacks, but Dulcy had learned some new tricks and punched one of them in the face, while tripping another with his tails.

One felidae slashed with his robotic claws at Antoine, who blocked the swipes with his sword. He looked for an opening, and as the cat swiped, Antoine moved aside and cut off its robotic arms with his sword before knocking him out with a karate chop. He grabbed one of the cut off arms, and used it as a secondary weapon in combination with his sword, slashing around him, destroying the weapons and some cybernetics of some other Felidae.

The heroes were kicking some butt, but some Felidae still were left behind to work on the weapon as the rest distracted them. Nicole saw how a lightningbolt was absorbed inside the machine. Then they aimed their cannon at Lupe, who was busy kicking the tails of some Felidae…

"No!" Nicole said as she kicked a Felidae of her, morphed one of her hands, and shot the cannon with her stun gun. The machine overloaded and the electricity it has built up in his body unleashed itself on the Felidae, shocking them to death. One of them fell down the cliff, while the other dropped dead next to the now ruined cannon.

"I…I didn't mean to kill them." Nicole said sadly as she looked at the electrocuted Legionnaires.

"You had no choix…you were defending ze wolves." Antoine assured them. The remaining Felidae lay knocked out around their feet.

Nicole moved closer to the Felidae killed by the electric pulse. "It may not be respectful, no matter that they were enemies…but to study relatively unharmed Legion tech…" Nicole said as she cut a part of the Felidae's head open with a laser in her fingertip.

She pulled out a small red round device. "The cherry bomb…it is fried due to the lightning. Normally the cybernetic limbs of a Legionnaire protect against that, but they were really close to the blast. Despite the damage, I might study them, and finding for a way to disable them." Nicole explained.

"So we got something out of this distraction." Dulcy noted.

"But now we 'ave to get back to tracking Benedict." Antoine noted.

Nicole showed off a tracking system in her arm, Benedict appearing as a red dot. "And I know where he's heading…Chun-Nan! We're having a long plane ride ahead of us, let's move!" Nicole noted.

Meanwhile, the Felidae have been forced to retreat by the wolves, who were once again the smarter fighters. "Okay, we have fended them off for now. But they'll be back. We got to stay on our toes." Lupe stated.

"Hey, look what I found." Reynard said. One of the Legionnaires that were shocked to death and fell down the cliff lay in front of them.

"That scientist from GUN…that Morgan guy asked for us to bring him Legionnaires to study…this one is intact enough. The doc should learn a lot from studying him." Reynard added.

"Okay then, bring him along then." Lupe said.

"Wait, do I need to carry a dead guy?" Reynard asked a bit disgusted.

"Well…someone has to do it." Lupe said.

The wolves didn't notice when the plane of Nicole, Dulcy and Antoine flew in the sky above them, which has set a new course.

TO BE CONTINUED


	78. Nicole's story III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT: ADVENTURE, NICOLE'S STORY PART III

Nicole woke up very suddenly as she recovered from a nightmare she had. Though she didn't remember what the nightmare was. Though normally, as a machine she wouldn't need sleep, but her new body was equipped with a sleep mode, so she would feel more Mobian. Nicole rubbed the sand from her eyes…eyes? Nicole looked at her hands and they looked really organic.

Nicole thought for a second she had completed the holo-disguise without her remembering, but she pinched herself…she felt a real jolt of pain as she did. But she shouldn't have been able to feel that…she didn't perfect her touch sensors just yet. How could she feel that?

"Rise and shine, Nikki!" a familiar voice said. Nicole looked at the door opening to see Bunnie…but that couldn't be, she was supposed to be sick. Not only that, she looked totally organic. No more cybernetics…

"Bunnie, you're okay!" Nicole said happily.

"Thanks to you, sugah! You saved ma life when you stole that formula from that awful Benedict guy." Bunnie stated.

"I did?" Nicole asked confused. She didn't remember doing so. Last she remembered was going down in Chun-Nan…

"Oh, you don't remember? You must have hit your head pretty hard when ya took down Benedict." Bunnie stated.

"I took down Benedict?" Nicole asked again. She forgot something like defeating Benedict.

"Sure you did! Ya sent his ship crashin' in a volcano, even he can't revive himself from that. You are a hero, you defeated Benedict Fox." Bunnie said.

"M-m-me? But I don't even remember. But what about Robotnik? What about that liquid being? What about the Chaos Emeralds? What the heck happened to the others?" Nicole asked.

"Robotnik outsmarted us and got away, but the Emeralds are safe and that little puddle is locked back in the Master Emerald, where it came from. The world is safe thanks to you. There's a real party in your honor." Bunnie said.

"How did I turn organic again?" Nicole asked.

"That stuff you used to heal me had some other uses, we used a strand of your DNA and presto, we made you a new body. Isn't that great Nikki?" Bunnie said.

"It sounds nice…too good to be nice." Nicole stated. She admired her organic form once again. It was like a dream, she could feel, breathe, she felt a heartbeat. She even felt a tear drop from her eye.

"Life can be fair at times. Now, what about that party, 'guest of honor'? Ya probably haven't eaten in a while." Bunnie suggested.

"I would like to feel my taste buds again." Nicole stated.

"So, all right, come along!" Bunnie said.

Nicole got dressed and followed Bunnie outside. Immediately a huge crowd started cheering on her when she got out, it startled her as she nearly fell over as they did. "Whoa…" Nicole muttered.

"Nicole, what's up, dudette. So radical of you how you beat Benedict." Sonic said as he approached her.

"Er…thanks?" Nicole asked. She found the way Sonic greeting her unorthodox for his doing, but she couldn't think about it as several of her friends were throwing compliments at her.

"Great job, Nicole. Throw him down a volcano, wish I thought of that." Tails said.

"Awesome what you did." Sally said as she gave thumbs up.

"I thank you for rescuing ma chèrie." Antoine added.

"And my little songbird!" Amy added as she wrapped her arm around Lily.

"Easy there, fellas! Give her some room to breathe. There's a feast, with grub!" Bunnie said as she guided Nicole to a very long table, which was full of plates, forks, knifes and glasses, as well as several delicious looking dishes: soup, salad, poultry, fish, steak, corn cobs and more.

Nicole grabbed a buttery corn cob and took a bite. She felt a sensation in her mouth, one of taste. She was so happy that of all stuff, she could experience good food again. "How I missed this…" she said, nearly crying again as she looked around as how her friends sat down at the table and started to eat themselves.

"I should feel happy…yet there's a feeling I can't shake off. Benedict is gone, I'm a real Mobian again, there is no threat, and they're throwing a celebration for me. So why am I not enjoying this as much as I should?" Nicole wondered.

"Is there somethin' Nikki?" Bunnie asked.

"Er…yes. I'm afraid I can't be much of use again now I'm organic. I was a pretty good hacker as a program." Nicole stated. She didn't know why she lied to Bunnie, the one she was so happy to see okay.

"Oh, we just buy ya a computer and ya can still be our numbah one data cruncher." Bunnie said as she took a bite of a stick of celery.

"Well…that can work too. Now if you excuse me…I feel another sensation I didn't feel in a long time, but it's less pleasant. Little ladies' room!" Nicole said as she left the table.

"Sure thang! I hope ya haven't forgotten how to pee!" Bunnie joked.

Nicole left the table, but didn't head for the bathroom. Instead she started walking around in the HQ. She went down in Tails' Lab, looking for clues. She came across his computer and started dialing away at the keyboards. She tried to find any info, but she found nothing, the computer had no data on it at all. It was like a brand new computer, uncostumized. "That's odd…" Nicole said. As she left the lab, a pair of eyes glowed up in the dark…

She then went down in the library. She grabbed a book. There were words in it, but she couldn't read them, it was no way dyslexia, the letter were just scrambled, overlapping, inconsistent size… "That's also odd." Nicole noted. She heard something approach…and ducked under some laser fire. She looked up and saw Tori.

Only Tori's eyes glowed red and showed no emotion. "Tails doesn't like it when you go through his stuff…" she said in a very monotone voice that wasn't like her.

"There was no stuff, his computer had nothing…no plans, no data, no journal, no progress, nothing. That's not like Tails. I also got in way too easy. There was nothing to see…I swear!" Nicole said.

"I know, that's why you need to die!" Tori said as her arms morphed into blasters and she started shooting at Nicole, who jumped aside to dodge. Nicole held out her hands, hoping to blast Tori herself, forgetting she was organic now. When she realized that, she quickly dodged another one of Tori's blasts.

"Tori, it's me! What has gotten into you?" Nicole asked. Tori didn't reply as she fired her gun again. Nicole dodged once more. "Okay, I'm pretty vulnerable now. How do I…" Nicole thought as she looked at all the book cases around her. "Perfect!" Nicole pushed one over, which in a domino effect knocked over the other book cases, the last one falling on Tori, deactivating her.

Nicole ran for it as she rushed out the library out into the corridor. There she was confronted by the other Freedom Fighters. "Guys…Tori has gone nuts, she attacked me! I manage to pin her under a bookshelf." she said.

"Oh dear…I was afraid that would happen. I tried a new upgrade that would make her run longer on her Power Ring, but it backfired. I thought I deactivated her." Tails noted.

"Luckily Nicole is all right. Does Nicole want a hotdog?" Muttski asked as he held a hotdog out to Nicole.

"No thanks!" Nicole said, politely refusing the hotdog.

"Suit it yourself." Muttski said as he then took a bite of the hotdog.

Nicole didn't hesitate…she tackled Antoine, grabbed his sword and then held it out in front of her in defense. "Nicole, what are you doing?" Sally asked.

"This isn't real…nothing of this is real. I had the feeling since the beginning. I don't remember defeating Benedict. The serum that healed Bunnie couldn't be strong enough to create a clone body…Amy called Lily 'songbird' instead of 'Lilybell'…the 'dudette' on Sonic, the 'thumbs up' with Sally…not to mention that Bunnie is allergic to celery and that Muttski, a vegan, eats a hotdog! You are not real!" Nicole ranted.

The Freedom Fighters looked at one another and started laughing. They then said all at the same time, in the voice of legion: "Very perceptive. I guess there is no more need to keep up the façade." The Freedom Fighter's faces all morphed into that of the splitting image of Robotnik. "Hello Nicole."

"Robotnik…I knew it! You already mentioned through your Bunnie copy that you had outsmarted the Freedom Fighters. Your ego knows no bounds…" Nicole stated.

"Again, very observant. Yes, I trapped you in this fake virtual dream world. I was hoping to keep you quiet while I pried your mind for valuable info." Robotnik said through the Freedom Fighter-like avatars.

"Now I get it…you somehow capture me. You locked me to a machine and tried to enter my mind…a self-defense protocol initiated preventing you from taking any valuable info, but it prevented me from remembering I was captured. You made me believe I was actually organic to weaken the barriers of my mind to recover the info I have." Nicole realized.

"Bingo! A plus for you. But now you are in a world of my making. You can't get out, you don't have powers in this world. In this world, I rule!" Robotnik said as his Freedom Fighters avatars merged into one and became a giant hydra-esque dragon with Robotnik heads.

Nicole ran for it as she avoided being scorched by the firebreath of the Robotnik Hydra. "Run! I'm coming for you!" Robotnik Hydra said as it chased after Nicole. "You can run, but you can't hide, I control this world." Robotnik Hydra said.

Nicole tried to run outside, but found the entire city gone and instead saw four giant metallic prison-like walls, trapping her into the virtual city. Nicole tried to raise the sword she grabbed of the fake Antoine, but it turned into a snake and Nicole dropped it. "You don't have any powers in this world, already told you." Robotnik said.

"Wrong…this is my mind! You are trespassing." Nicole said as she suddenly morphed in the Tron-armored avatar she used to combat evil in the digital realm. "Here I can do what I want and you can't do anything." Nicole said as she rushed at the Hydra.

The Hydra fired streams of fire from his mouth. But Nicole took a disc from her back, made it grow into some sort of shield and charged through the flames unharmed. She then created a data sword and used it to cut off one of the Robotnik Hydra heads, which dissolved upon being cut off. "NO!" the Robotnik Hydra said as one by one, his heads were cut off and he shrank down in size.

As soon as there was only one left, the Hydra had reverted back into the black and yellow uniformed form the real Robotnik took on. "Now, get out of my head!" Nicole said as she slashed the last Robotnik in half…

She found herself jerking awake in the real world, in her robot body, the real Robotnik by her side, but he was out cold on the floor, due to the beating in the digital realms he gave him. He wasn't dead, and destroying his body wouldn't do so either since he's an energy being that can hop bodies.

Nicole saw several roboticized oxes and bats fighting off Antoine and Dulcy. Antoine cut the weapons of the Robian Bats apart with his sword before he used the handle of the sword to knock them out. Dulcy managed to freeze the giant dumb robotic oxes into places using her ice powers.

"Guys, I'm awake!" Nicole said as she spouted her stun guns on her arms and fired at the Robians.

"That's good! We came here on a rescue mission, but it seems you rescued yourself already. Now let's get out of here!" Dulcy suggested as she, Nicole and Antoine fought their way through the Robians as they tried to get out.

While they rushed through the corridors of the Asian-looking palace, former HQ of the Yagyu Clan, as they avoided some Robians. "So…how did Robotnik capture me?" Nicole asked.

"We landed ze plane in Chun-Nan, as immediatement some Robian chauve-souris attaque us. Robotnik snuck up with an EMP weapon and knocked you out. We were forced to retreat as they were with too many. Excusez-nous for that." Antoine explained.

"It's all right. Not that Robotnik would get anything from my mind anyway!" Nicole said as they came across a window and jumped through, Dulcy softening their landing with a wind burst before they ran off.

"Oof, I'm glad we got out of there…how long was I actually inside the base?" Nicole asked.

"About twelve hours. But no worries, we still had the scanner you gave us. Benedict is still in Chun-Nan. And we know why, we have detected some Chaos Emeralds as well. All we need to do now is get them before Benedict does. Maybe with the Emeralds, we can heal Bunnie without the use of Benedict." Dulcy explained.

"May I remind you how dangerous it is to use the Chaos Emeralds unless you got the set complete? Ask Sonic, he can tell." Nicole stated.

"But we still have to keep les emeralds out of Benedict's hands, non?" Antoine suggested.

"We will…Robotnik has slowed us down enough, we need to keep going now!" Nicole said, raising her fist. She then saw the robotic hand she had once again. Though the dream simulation was fake, Nicole really enjoyed it to feel Mobian again, even for a little while.

"Nicole?" Dulcy asked as Nicole has kept staring at her own robotic hand for a while.

"Er…sorry, I got distracted. Now let's go!" Nicole said as the trio moved on for their next challenge.

TO BE CONTINUED


	79. Nicole's Adventure 79

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE: NICOLE'S STORY, PART IV

The 'gang war', as it was called by many, between Robotnik and Benedict was serious, no one could deny that. Both of them have conquered an equal amount of territory. However, it was always about different continents…except for Chun-Nan, the only place both Benedict and Robotnik have both conquered half off, mostly because each of them has two clans under their power. So here the gang war was the heaviest, and it didn't help that the clans already were at war badly before the dictators intervened. But now it was even worse.

"That emerald is mine!" Robotnik spat at Benedict.

"Sorry, finders keepers!" Benedict said. Both of them had tracked down the blue Chaos Emerald at the exact same time. Only Benedict has been just a little bit earlier to get it.

"Sorry, but that catchphrase is so old…Ushi Clan, Yagyu clan, retrieve the Emerald!" Robotnik ordered the roboticized ox and bat ninja army.

"Saru Clan, Raiju Clan, defend your master!" Benedict ordered his army of Legionized monkeys and lynxes.

Both armies had rushed forward and clashed, starting a violent brawl. One Yagyu robot bit open the throat of a Raiju, before it was sliced in half by another Raiju. A robotic ox tossed a Raiju to the ground and smashed it's skull in with his mace, before a Saru planted some shuriken in his head, shutting it down. A swatbot had just shot down a Fox Fighter with his rifle, before another Fox Fighter jumped on his back and ripped the head of the Swatbot's body.

Lord Yami of the Yagyu was facing Ken Khan in a fight, the latter flying on top of his cloud Nimbus shooting lightning bolts. Yami used his power of flight and agility to dodge the lightning bolts. He exposed the shuriken launchers on his arm and shot several of the sharp ninja stars at the Lord, who spins his staff rapidly to deflect them. He jumped of his cloud and whacked the bat lord out of the sky, onto the ground, before he tried to impale the bat lord on his atom bat, but he got up and dodged in time.

Jun Kun, lord of the Ushi, tried to swat Conquering Storm (or at least the sleeper clone under Benedict's command) with his mace. But Conquering Storm jumped to dodge and landed on the mace as it had hit the ground. The cybernetics in her hands allowed her to summon lightning in her hands, which she used to shock Jun Kun, who screamed out in pain before tossing the lynx of him in a wall. He then rushed at her, and Conquering Storm barely avoided being crushed by the mace again, but back-flipped in time.

"Send in the Dragon-Nik!" Robotnik ordered. A giant mechanical Chinese Dragon robot flew out of the sky onto the scene.

"Send in the Mecha Oni!" A giant demonic and robotic giant rose up and confronted the Dragon.

"Those two know how to fight a war. They brought out their brainwashed victims, footsoldiers and giant machines. But tell me how we fit into this?" Dulcy asked, as she, Nicole and Antoine looked how the battle played out.

"We can use this battle as a distraction, I might get close enough to extract some of Benedict's DNA or get the Chaos Emerald. Anyways we may benefit from their bickering." Nicole stated.

"But how exactement are we going to pull zis off?" Antoine asked.

"I may be able to use one of those giant robots. If I can get close I can hack them and use them against Benedict. Afterwards we take from him what we need and we get back to Knothole!" Nicole explained.

"You make it sound easy, while we know it isn't." Dulcy moaned.

"When is it ever?" Nicole stated.

Robotnik had shot towards Benedict and grabbed him in a huge bear hug. He crushed the fox in his grip, but Benedict broke free by stabbing Robotnik's gut with the sharp claws of his robotic hand. Robotnik let go as he grabbed the damaged spot on his body. He then rubbed his hand over the wound, and the metal of his skin melded itself.

Robotnik then morphed his hand into a blaster and tried blasting at Benedict, but he performed some flips to dodge. He morphed his hand into a gun as well and fired at Robotnik who just caught the energy bolt in his hand and crushed it into nothing.

Nicole rushed through the crowd of fighting ninja's, Dulcy and Antoine clearing a path for her. Two Saru's rushed at them, but Dulcy blew them away with a burst of wind. Two Yagyu then approached, but Antoine sliced their wings off and knocked them away with the hilt of his sword. An Ushi stood in their way, but Nicole sweep kicked it to the ground and walked over it.

Nicole saw how the Dragon-Nik has wrapped his serpentine body around the Mecha Oni, who at the same time had one of his huge hands wrapped around the dragon's throat. Nicole climbed up the giant's body. She then opened a panel in the back and crawled inside. She connected herself to it…

Her mind was transferred back to the digital realm. She saw a digital replicate of the Oni in the data world. But the Oni was unmoving, as its primary functions were aimed at the fight with the Dragon. But some helper Programs, who looked like Data skulls, flew at Nicole.

Nicole produced two data blades, chopping the first skull vertically in half, then one horizontally, separating it's lower jaw from the rest, and then diagonally sliced the upper half apart. She then stabbed one of the skulls in the forehead and retracted the blade. The skull programs shattered like glass after being owned by Nicole.

In the real world, the dragon breathed fire in the face of the Oni, melting a part of its faceplate off and burning the hair of the thing. But the Oni then got mad, grabbed the Dragon by the head with one hand, and the throat with the second and ripped it's head clean off. Now it had defeated his foe in the real world, he could direct all his functions to eliminating the intruder.

The digital replica of the Oni in the digital realm started moving and aimed his attention at Nicole. He tried to crush her under his foot, but Nicole spouted rollerskates and rushed out of the way. She the spouted wings and flew up, zooming around the Oni's head like an annoying fly. The Oni started swatting around him, but missed every time.

"Why isn't he moving?" Benedict wondered as he saw that the Oni, despite his victory over the dragon, hadn't turned his attention to Robotnik like his programming should have told him, leaving Benedict alone to fight off Robotnik. It only meant someone was screwing with his systems. He noted Antoine and Dulcy at the feet of the Oni… "Freedom Fighters. I should have known…keep this oaf off me!" he ordered some of his Legionnaires, who jumped on top of Robotnik as Benedict rushed at the Freedom Fighters.

"Oh non…" Antoine said as he saw the evil monarch rush at them. Antoine lashed with his blade, but Benedict leans back to avoid, then sprang back up and punched Antoine hard, dazing him.

Dulcy tossed fireballs at him, but Benedict agilly dodges every one of them. He then jumps up and kicks Dulcy.

"Hello, clone soldier of mine, eager to join my ranks again?" Benedict asked.

"Not in a lifetime!" Dulcy said as she froze Benedict's feet to the ground, only for Benedict to smash the ice with his robotic fist, setting himself free.

"Oh, have you forgotten? Red light!" Benedict said. That phrase paralyzed Dulcy last time because of the programming inside her brain. But…

"Sorry, that doesn't work anymore. Nicole cleared my mind of any of your programming. I'm my own person now!" Dulcy said.

"Then why are you here at the same time as me? You are unsure of who you are, you are a copy of the original. You can't be you own person, and you were hoping that maybe with me lies your true destiny. Or you want to off me to bury the bad memory, but that won't work, we both know that." Benedict mocked.

Dulcy raised her gauntlet, but hesitated. Enough for Benedict to rush at her and grab her throat. "You suffer because of your own existence, let me end it and make the suffering stop…" he said. But suddenly Benedict fell some pain. Antoine had regained consciousness and slashed at Benedict's leg. Benedict lets Dulcy go and grabs his leg in pain. Though it healed soon afterwards. "Why you little…"

The Oni in the digital realm smacked his hands together, but Nicole had moved from in between them just in time. "Close call…now, I wonder if this Oni has the same weakness as the real Oni…" Nicole said as she flew at the back, seeing an identical panel in the back of the Oni and peeled it off and went inside. He saw the digital core of the beast, a black orb. "Bingo!" Nicole said as she stabbed the orb with her digital blades, erasing the Oni's digital counterpart.

The real Oni started moving again, but this time it grabbed Benedict in his hand. "Argh…Nicole, of course!" Benedict noted.

"Okay Benedict, we got you at our mercy…now, you are going to surrender to us and release all the prisoners, or shall we test out how far your regenerative abilities go? While we're at it, we want the Chaos Emerald." Nicole spoke through the Oni.

"In my death I won't grant anyone freedom, especially not my Legionnaires. Once my pulse stops, the cherry bombs go off. And I'll never surrender so…take me prisoner if you will, but if I don't return to my flagship in a certain amount of time, Violet automatically donates the cherry bombs as well. Anyway I can't lose. You really want to risk all those innocent lives? Let me go or I'll they'll be a concert of brains blowing up…" Benedict said.

Nicole knew Benedict wasn't lying. Benedict would make sure that those under his rule wouldn't be released so easily. "Fine…but I'll find a way to stop you, I will." Nicole said as the Oni let Benedict go. Benedict jumped off as a hover platform appeared, and Benedict landed on it, which made his way to his flagship.

"Nice doing business with you, try better next time!" Benedict said as he vanished from sight.

Robotnik has roboticized all the ninja's under Benedict who tried to halt him. However, since they already were partially cybernetic, they were nothing more than scrap metal scattered on the battlefield. "Benedict has gotten away with my emerald…oh well, there are three more out there, I'll just have to get those. RETREAT!" Robotnik said as he called off his troops, and Benedict's troops left as well.

Nicole got back in her own body and had set the Oni to self-destruct. As she, Dulcy and Antoine got out of range, the thing blew up. "Damn it! I got him, but he managed to turn things to his advantage again!" Nicole said.

"When you were making threats, you didn't ask him for the cure." Dulcy noted.

"If he knew what I was after, it would have become harder for us from this point. He believes we are merely going for a direct assault, and we leave him to believe that for a while. He may lower his guard slightly when we go retrieve that cure." Nicole explained.

"I managed to give heem a cut. There is a bit of blood on my sword. Can you do quelque chose with it?" Antoine said.

Nicole scanned the blood on the sword. "I see traces of unknown substance…but his DNA looks pretty normal. So he didn't do any modifications to his DNA, he relies on something he needs to take in on regular base to keep his healing powers going. Too bad there isn't enough of his blood on the sword for me to work out the formula."

"Then how are we going to get ze cure?" Antoine asked.

"I bet that Violet, his personal computer, has some data on that cure, but we have to get on the flagship to get it. But the plane we got isn't fast enough. The plane is not up to Tori's standards." Nicole explained.

"So what do we do? Buy some special parts at the store to upgrade the plane?" Dulcy asked.

"Close. We're at this point close to the border between Northern Eurish and West Yurashia. That's where one of Robotnik's bases is located. We're going to have to steal some spare parts there." Nicole explained.

"Can't we just return to Knothole?" Antoine asked.

"That takes too much time, and every second counts for Bunnie. And the others are too busy with their own missions so…besides, we're Freedom Fighters, we already did the whole 'sneak-in-and-raid-the-factory-thing!" Nicole stated.

"Only Antoine did that, I have no experience with the stealth, and you were mostly a handheld on previous missions." Dulcy noted.

"We can do this, for Bunnie! This is the only chance we have…" Nicole said.

"I'm not turning back now, I just point out the difficulty of this. But it's never easy, so I guess we have to get along with it." Dulcy said.

"Everything for ma chèrie!" Antoine said.

TO BE CONTINUED


	80. Nicole's story V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY: NICOLE'S STORY, PART V

Eurish…the Europe of Mobius. Mercia was part of Eurish too, but since it was an isle from the mainland, it had its own Grandmaster, as it was under Benedict. But the rest of Eurish was under Robotnik, more specifically his Sub-Boss, the roboticized Maximillion Acorn, who ruled from a Fortress in Vietsav, in northern Eurish.

"I can't believe we'll be stealing from a Sub-Boss. That building has to be Fort Knox security." Dulcy stated.

"Not if we play it smart. I'll pretend to be a Robian, my body already looks the part, and pretend to bring you in." Nicole said.

"We have to play prisoner?" Antoine asked.

"Indeed. But as soon as we are in and out of sight, we scan the place, disrupt some of their operations and leave with some nice tech to upgrade the plane." Nicole said.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Dulcy moaned.

Two Robian guards stood at the entrance of the Fortress, letting no one in. "All hail Robotnik!" Nicole said as she approached with a tied up Dulcy and Antoine. "Unit reporting for duty. I have captured two Freedom Fighters and bring them in for roboticization." Nicole stated.

"I don't recognize you…are you a recent addition?" one of the guards asked.

"Affirmative! I am currently yet to be assigned, but merely headed towards the nearest Robotnik base to deliver these Freedom Fighters." Nicole replied.

"Sounds reasonable. Come in, report to Sub-Boss Maximillion. Prepare the subjects to be roboticized." The guard said as he let them in.

Nicole carried her friends in. As soon as she was out of sight, she scanned for hidden cameras and such, and with a wireless signal, not even needing to pass the digital realm for it, she forced the camera's to loop so they wouldn't be detected. "Okay, we're in. Now, there has to be some tech stored…downloading schematics." Nicole tapped into a database all Robians could access. But due to her hacking skills, she could too.

"I found a storage of tech in the east wing. Let's head there." Nicole said.

"So far everything goes according to plan. But nothing goes according to plan, so I'm sure something will go wrong." Dulcy stated.

"If zat happens, we could always improvise, non?" Antoine said.

"Let's not hang around for too long. Let's move!" Nicole said as they moved out.

In the throne room, one of the guards reports to a roboticized Max. "Sir, a newly roboticized lynx girl has applied with two Freedom Fighters she captured."

"The database doesn't say anything about a recent addition of a lynx girl to our numbers…she isn't a Robian. We have to find her and stop her, before our operations get disrupted. Are the mods on subject DU-1C7 completed?" Max asked.

"Affirmative. She should be ready for her first assignment." The guard replied.

"Then send the unit to hunt down and eliminate the intruders." Max ordered.

The heroes arrived in a hangar bay, where they saw a jet being constructed. Several Robians and Swatbots were working on it. Nicole scanned the design. "They're making a prototype fighter jet. It's near-completion. We should be able to take it for our own, and if the design holds, we'll be able to keep up with Benedict's flagship." Nicole stated.

"Then how are we going to take it from right under the noses of a hundred Robians and Swatbots?" Dulcy wondered.

"Ze swatbots, we could destroy, but ze Robians…how do we disable them?" Antoine asked.

"With an EMP burst. Strong enough to disable them, but not strong enough to fry their circuits and leave them dead. I need to use some of my power reserves for it…But as long as my main power source holds out and we use the Power Rings sparingly, we can still pull it off." Nicole said as she opened a part of her arm and pulled out some parts to make a small EMP bomb.

"This should do it. Stand back!" Nicole said as she tossed it down, and a small EMP pulse affected all the Swatbots and Robians, shutting them down. "Okay, the EMP only works for a limited time, in the mean time we have to make the jet work for us." Nicole said.

"Didn't that jet get affected? And doesn't it need to get finished first?" Dulcy asked.

"The jet doesn't have a power source yet, so there are no electric impulses to be disrupted yet. That's where our spare power rings come in. And the jet was already close to completion, we just need to quickly work out the finishing touches and we're done!" Nicole stated.

"We better first lock down this place before any uninvited guests pop in." Dulcy suggested.

"Oh, great idea!" Nicole said as she went to a door and touched the security lock with her hand, overriding it mentally and locking the hangar down. However, before the door slid down, something shot by and managed to get in before the lockdown was completed.

"What the…" Dulcy said as she saw the thing rush by. To her shock, the thing was a Robian, but not any ordinary one. This one looked a lot like her. But it also looked different with the armor and weapon upgrades it has received.

"A modified Robian. Does that mean zis one…" Antoine asked.

"Can't be deroboticized." Nicole finished.

"Unit ready for elimination of targets!" the Robian Dulcy said. She raised her hand and it morphed into a flamethrower. It shot out a stream of blue flames, which the heroes barely dodged.

"It appears to be modified to emulate your gauntlet's power!" Nicole stated.

"I thought I was the copy…but now she has copied my powers and…too confusing, I'll just take her out!" Dulcy said as she fired a stream of flames out of her hands herself, but the Robian Dulcy dodged using her jet boosters.

"You are a mere copy of this unit, you are a shadow! No match for the original." The Robian Dulcy mocked darkly.

"I'm sick and tired of being called a copy!" Dulcy said as she used her gauntlet to punch her Robian counterpart in the face, knocking her back. "Nicole, you and Antoine make those mods to the jet quickly, the EMP won't last, I'll hold her off." Dulcy warned.

"Will she be all right?" Antoine asked.

"I'm not sure, but we have to take the risk, we need that cure. We need to have faith in Dulcy's abilities." Nicole said. Antoine agreed and they headed for the jet. Nicole grabbed some parts on the floor the Robians carried earlier and started placing them in the jet.

Robian Dulcy's left arm became an ice gun and started to freeze Dulcy's upper torso. But she used her fire powers to break free and then shot a stream of flames at her counterpart. It hit her, but only pushed it back, not melt the resistant armor. Dulcy then jumped up, flew close to her, and used a wind burst to knock her into the floor.

"Anything you think, say, or feel is just a copy of my own emotions and thought. You are not your own person." Robian Dulcy said as she got up. She then punched Dulcy in the face and kneed her in the stomach, before grabbed her by her Mohawk and pull her up. "You shouldn't even exist."

"No, I shouldn't! I was created as a clone of you. But guess what? I was there to help destroy two Death Eggs and fight the invasion of Robotnik and Benedict. Where were you?" Dulcy said as she planted her feet on Robian Dulcy's chest and pushed her off. She then engulfed her fist in flames and delivered a fiery punch to Robian Dulcy with her fiery gauntlet hand.

Robian Dulcy lay down on the floor right now. Dulcy now grabbed a Power Ring and put it on her counterpart's chest. It glowed brightly as it vanished, but the optics of her counterpart started fading in and out. "Urgh…where am I? Wait…I remember now…oh no!" Robian Dulcy said as she looked at herself. Then she looked at the organic Dulcy in front of her. "So it's true…that fox guy cloned me…you're one of them, are you?"

"I am…but believe me, I'm not like those mindless other servants Benedict has created and…" Dulcy said.

"I know about you. Robotnik has files on the Freedom Fighters. I know of your heroics. I'm glad you managed to be your own person right now." Robian Dulcy said.

"Me? What I did wasn't nothing…but I really wanted to know what the original me was like." Dulcy said.

"Just an ordinary girl who had lost her mother to the war with Eggman, grew up in an orphanage and later got abducted to be an experiment in roboticizing. Later on, he did this to me…and there's no way back for me." Robian Dulcy said.

"I can take you out of here, and have you…" Dulcy said, but was cut off by her counterpart.

"Leave me here, the Power Ring shall wear off over time, and I'll be a waste of resources. Besides, I'm not what the world needs, you are. You are a hero, I am not. So leave me behind. I got nothing left, but you have. You have friends, and if I can believe the rumors, a boyfriend as well." Robian Dulcy said. She opened her mechanized Mohawk and pulled out a small disc.

"Here is a backup of my mind…it contains a few things I've learned while being a Robian. Might prove useful in the future." Robian Dulcy said.

"Dulcy, get in the jet, the Robians are waking up! We need to get out now!" Nicoel warned Dulcy.

"Go, go with your friends, do the right thing, I'll hold them off as long as I can before the Power Ring wears out." Robian Dulcy said.

"Thank you…" Dulcy said, although a bit sadly as she jumped into the jet and the heroes took off. Nicole blasted a hole in the wall with the jet's weapons and they flew through it.

The Robians and Swatbots tried to chase it in vain, but Robian Dulcy blocked their way and started firing away her flamethrower and ice beam at the swatbots, and blow off the Robians by morphing her hands into powerful electric fans.

However, the automated defense systems of the fortress aimed their turrets at the jet…only for the Robian Dulcy to jump in front, erect a forcefield to absorb the blasts and let the heroes get away safely. It had put a strain on her however, and the forcefield faded and she fell down. She found herself swarmed with Swatbots and Robians.

Dulcy looked sad as their jet flew off away from the fortress in Eurish. "I know what you're thinking Dulcy…but you should know by now how far you achieved on your own." Nicole assured her.

"I know, and I'm quite proud of what I have become…and even if the shadow of my existence will always hang over me…I won't let it get in the way of doing the right thing. It's just, the other me deserved so much better. But she had taken everything from her. It's not fair that she is the original but is left with so little."

"La guerre is never fair, Dulcy!" Antoine said.

"But the info she gave us proves really valuable. Whatever she did was not in vain. Hey, there's some info on Max as well…oh my Walkers!" Nicole said as she continued reading the disc that they were handed by Robian Dulcy (don't worry, Nicole has activated the autopilot).

"What is it? Dulcy asked.

"Max is not really Max…I mean the one Robotnik roboticized and made Sub-Boss is not Maximillion Acorn." Nicole said.

"You mean someone different from the guy Sally mouthed off to a few months ago?" Dulcy asked.

"No, that Max wasn't the real Max, in fact the Max Sally knew for most of her life wasn't the real Max either. He's an imposter…I don't know how the other Dulcy found that out, but now we know why Max was never the fatherly type, he wasn't her real father." Nicole answered.

"That's an odd discovery. But if that guy wasn't Max, then where is the real Max?" Antoine asked.

"I don't know, but as soon as we have cured Bunnie, we need to talk to Sally about it." Nicole stated. But then something came up on the radar of the jet. "But to do so, we first need to get to Benedict. This is it guys, this is what we came for!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	81. Nicole's adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE: NICOLE'S STORY, PART VI

Using the newly high-jacked fighter jet, Nicole, Dulcy and Antoine were catching up to Benedict's flagship, the Vulpin. "There it is guys. The cure has to be in there. High security, close to Benedict himself…it has to be!" Nicole stated.

"Zere is no turning back now. Let's do zis, for Bunnie!" Antoine said, fired up.

"Hey guys, I see another plane in the distance…I can't really tell but I suspect that's Tori." Dulcy said.

"We can't contact them without giving ourselves away…they only pick us up when we get really close, but we won't be able to get close if we open communication channels. We get on the ship, get what we came for and see if we can come to their aid later." Nicole stated.

"You think Tails will be fine against Benedict?" Dulcy asked.

"Tails eez smart. He will be fine." Antoine assured her.

They saw how Tori, with Tails and Fiona approached the airship, and began dodging various gunfire and missiles, but eventually the plane was shot down but luckily, they saw their friends escape on Extreme Gear.

They approached the gunship themselves, and several turrets were aimed at them. "I hope the gunfire on this thing is good enough." Nicole wondered as she fired away at the turrets, blasting them apart. "Okay, that works…now let's see…" Nicole said as she pushed another button, and a missile was fired at the flagship, leaving a small hole in the rump. "Okay, we need to get through that hole to get in.

"I don't think we can fit the jet through that!" Dulcy stated.

"We're not going to fit the jet through. I discovered another useful trait of this jet by hacking the systems." Nicole said. As she barrel rolled through the gunfire, she pushed a button, and the wings and engines of the jet detached, leaving only the cockpit, which spouted two wheels and turned the cockpit into a motorcycle. The motorcycle flew into the hole, while the rest of the jet crashed into the side of the flagship, rocking it slightly.

"How did they get in! They cheated! They cheated their way in, they cheated with math and they cheated with the spelling bee! Charmy Bee can't spell…the punishment for cheating: to die! Die…wouldn't they look funny with pink hair dye?" V.I.O.L.E.T. said insanely. She contacted Benedict, who was currently facing off against Tails and Fiona.

"Now what is it? I'm in the middle of this dramatic speech." Benedict's voice sounded from the other side of the line.

"I couldn't stop the other intruders from entering." V.I.O.L.E.T. said ashamed.

"Then destroy them! You have control of the defense system, you air-headed program." Benedict said as he cut of the communications.

"He's really moody and cranky. Maybe some warm milk and a nice sleep would do him good. Nah, he's evil, he doesn't do 'good'…why does that sound dirty? Playing in the mud is dirty. Now to put the intruders down in the mud…" V.I.O.L.E.T. ranted as she set her eyes on them.

There were Fox Fighters, countless ones who set their sights on our heroes and began swarming upon them. Nicole turned her hands into blasters and fired away, shooting their heads off, and making the inanimate bodies fall down. Antoine used his sword to just cut his way through the Fox Fighters, slicing them down by the numbers. Dulcy just melted the robotic minions into puddles with her fire power.

"Okay…as much as I enjoy mindless violence against robotic foot soldiers, where to go now?" Dulcy asked.

"The control room, I'm going to pry the info I need right out of V.I.O.L.E.T.'s demented mind!" Nicole stated.

"Eez that a good idea? You know she eez really crazy, it might do some harm to your mind." Antoine said.

"I don't lose myself. Now let's go get her." Nicole said as they moved out. Though Violet has put up several defenses like turrets in the wall, lasers and such, Nicole could hack some of the smaller systems mentally with a wireless system, disabling them. They quickly reached the control room door.

The trio entered…Nicole locked the door behind them mentally. They saw V.I.O.L.E.T., in her eyeball form on a robot arm, Shellcracker and Dragonfly by her side. "So…you've come to face me, computer to computer. Nice body, especially nice how you can remotely hack smaller systems with your mind. But to get the more secret info, you have to down in my mind…you might get lost, like the shark in the maze…or was it a guy with a bull head? Never was good at mythology." V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

"I'm going to get down there, pull your mind open and get what I want, and you're not going to stop me!" Nicole stated.

"Yeah, but despite that the hacking skills are nicely augmented by your new body, I see it has it flaws…the arms get stuck once in a while when you slash with the blades too much, the guns overheat too quickly…and the holoprojector sucks! And the worst part is, it's not your color." V.I.O.L.E.T. stated.

"Why don't you and I fight it out in the digital realm? No tricks, no cheats, just see who is the strongest." Nicole stated.

"How do you know I won't cheat?" V.I.O.L.E.T. asked.

"It will nullify any victory you have over me. And I know you want to prove yourself the best." Nicole said.

"Got me there, but before we have our tea party, your friends can play with mine in the mean time, so they won't get bored…boring, boring, drilling in the ground, but we're not on the ground. We're in the air and the air if full of (singing) danger!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

"Just cut the crap and let's start!" Nicole said as she and V.I.O.L.E.T. locked eyes…both their eyes glowed, their bodies unmoving as their minds would duke out in the digital realm. Meanwhile Antoine and Dulcy would face Shellcracker and Dragonfly.

The familiar digital realm, block constructs with colorful digital outlines. Nicole stood there, her armored Mobian-like Avatar. Violet has taken on something not really giant but really big and brutish-looking, head to toe in armor, her signature single eye as the head. "Brute force alone won't help you here." Nicole said.

"No…but it's more fun that way. Just smile, darn ya smile!" V.I.O.L.E.T. t said as she created a claymore and tried to smash Nicole with it, who backflipped and dodged, but the impact of the claymore shook the floor slightly, making her landing a bit clumsy. Nicole created her digital buster sword and pounded away at V.I.O.L.E.T., who blocked all the swipes with her claymore.

Nicole slammed the blade hard into the claymore and tried pushing V.I.O.L.E.T. back but she was pushed back herself, so hard in fact she was knocked on her back slid down the floor. V.I.O.L.E.T. jumps up and tried to squash Nicole like a bug, but she spouted her wings in time and flew up to dodge.

V.I.O.L.E.T. jumped up again, but higher, but Nicole flew out of reach, but as V.I.O.L.E.T. fell back onto the ground, she set off and performed a higher jump, trying to get higher and higher with each jump. Nicole couldn't avoid her forever, so she instead, as V.I.O.L.E.T. tried to jump at her, fly under her swinging claymore and hits V.I.O.L.E.T. in the side with her buster sword, sending her spinning down to the ground and crash down.

Nicole trusts her Buster Sword downwards, ready to stab V.I.O.L.E.T., but she caught the blade in between her hands, but Nicole pushed the blade deeper, now this time overpowering V.I.O.L.E.T. the blade pierced V.I.O.L.E.T.'s chest armor, though not that deep, but deep enough to use the sword as a conductor and use it to drain some data from V.I.O.L.E.T., the latter screaming in her usual creepy tone as she did.

Nicole felt it, the info on the serum Benedict uses to regenerate himself, leaving V.I.O.L.E.T. and enter her own mind. But as she tried to probe further, V.I.O.L.E.T. pushed her off, and stood back up, but she staggered. "You managed to get a bit of me…but not even a fraction of what I have stored in my mind…however you managed to scramble up some other programs…I'm losing control of this ship." V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

V.I.O.L.E.T. then spazzed as she held the pierced armor wound in pain, which started to crack, leaving a gap on her chest, from which Nicole could see a Mobian-looking eye stare back. "Help me…" she heard, before the crack on the chest closed itself and V.I.O.L.E.T. stood back up. She then contacted Benedict.

"Not now V.I.O.L.E.T., I'm in the middle of something." Benedict said from the other side.

"But the intruders I tried to eradicate on your orders earlier…they managed to hack the ship and now we're going to ram Robotnik's Swat Carrier!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said in panic.

"Try to regain control." Benedict moaned.

"I can't…if I try to do so, I leave myself open so they can drain more information for me and that's no good. I suggest we evacuate." V.I.O.L.E.T. said. Benedict groaned in anger as he shut down the channel.

"Okay, Nikki! You may have bested me, but if you want to pry more from my wonderfully complex mind, you have to come back later, cause this ship is going to crash! Crash Bandicoot! Or rather ram into another…ram, lamb, sheepy-sheep…I suggest you get out and save your friends and we continue this later…does Wednesday at four suit you?" V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

"No biggie, I got what I came for!" Nicole said as the two left the digital realm. They travelled back to their bodies, as in the room they saw their allies fight.

Antoine was swiping his blade, Dragonfly blocking the swipes with one of his double-blade wings (the other still on his back). Dragonfly lashed, but Antoine leans back to dodge and tries to sweep kick Dragonfly, who just flew over it and tries to stab Antoine, who rolls to the side.

Shellcracker uses his big claw to block the fireballs Dulcy tosses, bouncing of his armor. He then fires a lightning bolt from his smaller claw, but Dulcy flies over it and then delivers a kick to the crab robot's chest, pushing him back slightly, but then he swatted Dulcy from the sky with his big claw, but she managed to land on both her feet.

"Guys, we need to evacuate, this ship is going to ram another ship. I got what we came for!" Nicole warned them. The robots and the Freedom fighters broke off, looking to save themselves rather than to continue fighting. Nicole and friends made it to the escape pods, while V.I.O.L.E.T. and her pals did the same…

The escape pods flew out of the ship, as they saw it crash into another, both ships going down in flames. Nicole saw several figures flying off from both ships, most of them riding Extreme Gear. She recognized Tails, Fiona and Tori coming from Benedict's ship, as well as Sonic, Sally, Amy, Lily and Knuckles form the other. "I guess our friends have been busy, busy being a pain in the butts of the dictators." Nicole noted.

"But we have ze cure now, everything is all right…Bunnie is going to be okay, non?" Antoine asked.

"The serum will make things easier, but her treatment still will know some risks…I'll carefully plan out the procedure first, get some help from the surgeons and then…we'll do our best to help her. I don't want to lose her either…" Nicole said. The data she pulled from V.I.O.L.E.T. consists of the formula from the serum, but there were other bits and pieces that didn't belong in there…she saw images of Fiona as a small girl…of a man, a Mobian Fox that she assumed was Fiona's dad…and gangsters, amongst them Archibald…but what were they doing in V.I.O.L.E.T.'s mainframe?

Later on, the escape pod had landed safely. They got out and looked around the jungle they were now. Nicole saw their friends Knuckles, Amy and Lily, as well a robot they didn't know.

"Nicole? What are you doing out here?" Amy asked.

"Er…long story, all I can say is…" Nicole wanted to say, but she was interrupted when another group of heroes joined in.

"Hey guys!" Tails greeted them. He was joined by Fiona and Tori. Also Amadeus and Rosemary were with them.

"Tails, already wondered what you were up to. I see you made a few new friends. Care to introduce them to us?" Amy said.

"I would love to, but…aren't Sally and Sonic here either? They also need to know." Tails said.

"No, they went after Elise after they snagged an Emerald…I hope they managed to get it back." Knuckles said.

"Then let's keep them and see if they react." Tails said as he grabbed his communicator. He then noticed Nicole's new form. "Nicole, what are you actually doing outside the city?"

"I had a mission…listen, I was looking for a way to help Bunnie, and I knew where to find it but…I'll explain when we compare notes, okay?" Nicole said.

"Fair enough." Tails said as he got Sonic and Sally's signal. "Hey guys, Tails here! I just met up with the others and they told me how you went after Robotnik." Tails said.

"We did and we blew his toys and his factory to kingdom come. So what have you been up to?" Sonic asked.

"Well, being a pain in Benedict's ass, and I found someone I'd like you to meet…let's just keep it a surprise, everyone just has to gather and compare notes. Nicole has especially some good stories to tell." Tails answered.

"Nicole is there too? I thought she was supposed to stay at Knothole!" Sally said.

"She'll explain later! Now are you coming or not?" Tails asked.

"Be there in just a sec, bro!" Sonic said as they put their communicators away.

"I really think we have a lot to tell each other." Tails said.

"We sure have…" Nicole said as she stared at a small screen on her arm, on which the formula to the serum was displayed, as well as a model of the molecular structure. She knew of what the serum consisted, she know how to make it now, but while it makes things easier to help Bunnie, it didn't make it that much easier, but it had increased her chances. But in the end it was worth it.

TO BE CONTINUED


	82. Amy's adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO: AMY'S STORY, PART I

Amy Rose, formerly princess of Mercia, has retreated back to her room. Since Lily was roboticized, she had spent most of the time there. She only came out to grab a bite or to go to the bathroom. But most of her time existed of her lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and feeling sad.

But she was quite angry at the moment…she was temporarily cast aside for any mission, afraid that recent events might cause her a lapse in judgement. To Amy it sounded like rubbish, though she didn't deny she was emotional. Okay, she could understand that they were worried for her, but no freakin' way she's going to sit down and wait, when the girl she loves is still out there, trapped and forced a life of slavery.

However, how would she be able to get out of the city? Let alone get past the shields? There were security measures that would be able to track down intruders, but probably those who attempt to break out as well. However, if the Freedom Fighters go out on missions, there had to be a way to get past the shields…Tails probably would have thought of something.

Amy didn't hesitate and grabbed a backpack, and started packing. She packed some clothes. She then snuck out of her room downstairs, to the kitchen to get a few snacks for on the way. Of course she had already her trusted bow and quiver of arrows at her disposal. But how would she get past the force field. It not only kept Robotnik and Benedict's forces out, but also prevented anyone from getting out, for their own safety of course.

But soon after Benedict and Robotnik had assaulted Knothole for the first time, Tails had shown the rest of the Freedom Fighters one of his special bracelets, that allows the ones wearing it to pass the shields harmlessly. Mostly this was for the Freedom Fighters and important people like ambassadors, those who brought an important delivery and such. Normally they would be held in storage until they were needed. What no one knew is that she snagged one of the bracelets in secret.

It was her ticket out of the city and on her way to Lily. Of course, thanks to her training as a Freedom Fighter, she had learned about stealth. Normally Knothole got special guards near the shields to prevent anyone from getting close. Amy hated to do it, but she had to knock out one of the female guards, and snag her uniform to sneak by the rest, before she'd later discard the uniform and pass thought the shields…

Passing through the shields with the bracelet on felt like…well, like a normal walk actually. She didn't feel anything as she passed through the shields. "I'm sorry guys, that I had to leave…but I'm getting my Lilybelle back!" she muttered before she ran for it.

"Sir, one of our spy sentries has picked up something near Knothole." Orbot reported to Robotnik. On the screen, Amy's running form could be seen on the camera. "It appears one of the Freedom Fighters is out on her own." He added.

"Well, I got something that belongs to her after all, she's after me. If she really wants to get back with her little songbird so bad, then let's grant her wish…Send one of the E-100 series after her." Robotnik said.

"Yo boss, which one? The rad red, or the blue…oh, why don't youse send the violet one! I love that color." Cubot said, stuck in Brooklyn mobster accent.

"No…I think this is a job for Zero! His name might not suggest it, but he's a worthy addition to my newest line of robotic minions." Robotnik decided.

"Why not send me after her? I can take her on." Elise asked.

"I need you for something else, my dear Elise. But you'll get your chance at one of the Freedom Fighter girls once the time is right. But for now let someone else take care of that job." Robotnik stated.

"All right then, Zero is deployed, sir. Not to question your genius, sir, but what if she manages to defeat or evade Zero?" Orbot said.

"The other E-series are built as assassins, but Zero is built as a hunter, and he'll mercilessly hunt his prey down until he got her. She might slip through the cracks one or two times, but she can't evade him forever, I've built him that way. And it would take more than her magic arrows to take it down." Robotnik stated.

It was then that no one but the roboticized Lily came into the room. She saluted and then turned to Robotnik: "Master, the reverse engineering of the Battle Bird tech into the Swat Fleet is successful, capacity should be increased by fifty percents already."

"Well done, my ex-Freedom Fighter. You know, you should get a reward…you'll get one in the form of your little princess, once Zero has brought her here. Once roboticized you'll be together again." Robotnik said.

"Thank you, my Lord!" Mecha Lily thanked.

"Whoa…the thought of two robotic dames going at it makes my oil pressure rise…" Cubot said with a dreamy look on his face.

Orbot slaps the back of Cubot's head. "Pull yourself together, you hornbot!"

"I'm able to build giant flagships, I've created the deadliest weapons, but I can never manage to get the personalities of my robots right, where did I go wrong?" Robotnik moaned.

Amy rushed through the forest outside of Knothole. She knew she had to start somewhere in her search for Lily. She hadn't thought it ahead in her excitement where she could be…now, if she was Robotnik and Lily was roboticized and under my command, where would I put her? At least somewhere her skills as an engineer would be helpful. Somewhere on his Swat Fleet. But how do you track a fleet down. It's huge, but Robotnik was able to pop out of nowhere with that fleet so he is able to hide something that big…

She needs to gather more info, and where would be the best place to do that? Well, it at least would be in one of his bases, he has conquered some territories in Eurish, Downunda, Chun-Nan and the United Federation. The last one was the closest so she would go down there first and if she didn't get what she was looking for, she'd move forward to the next one. It sounded simple, but she had only thought of it recently. She had to work out the details later.

Amy sat down on a log for a moment, resting from her long run and looking on her compass, and pulling out a map. The part of the United Federation that was under Robotnik's control was marked with the ugly icon that looked like Robotnik's ugly face. "Let's see…if I'm here…" she muttered.

Then she heard something. She listened carefully for a moment, nothing but the sound of forest Ferals, chirping birds, squeaking of rodents. But she thought for a moment she had heard something else. But she then shrugged it off and continued reading the map. Though she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. When out on your own, in a world as dangerous as this one, anything in the slightest bit suspicious, even a light sound, had to be approached with care.

Two red eyes stared from the fern at his target, watching the world through a tinted screen with various numbers and displays dancing in front of his eyes…calculating the right time to strike. The objective was simple: bring in the target alive. But that didn't exactly mean intact. He could break a few bones, twist some limbs or leave her battered, bruised and bloody, as long as she's still breathing and after roboticizing is able to deliver some valuable Freedom Fighter info.

He hovered closer, but still invisible. All it would take was one swift strike to knock her out clean cold. It was fast, it avoided damaging the target too much and it was efficient. The mechanical hunter stretched his mechanical fingers, his optics zooming in, calculating the time to strike…Then he shot out from his hiding place, his robotic fist raised.

But Amy reacted quickly. Her training as a Freedom Fighter really helped her here. She rolled aside as the fist struck and broke the log she sat on to splinters. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and loaded it in her bow as she rolled and fired. It hit the robot, but to her surprise the arrow didn't penetrate the armor, merely pushed him back. The arrow bounced off and landed on the ground. The spell Ebony put on it caused it to warp itself back in her quiver.

She took a good look at her pursuer. The robot was vaguely barrel-shaped, with two massive arms floating above the ground. The look it had could be seen as comical, but she recognized Robotnik's insignia and knew this one had to be dangerous. She grabbed another arrow, and aimed it at him. "Who are you?"

"E-series robot…designation E-101 Alpha, codename Zero. Objective: capture of the Freedom Fighter known as Amelia Rose, former Princess of Mercia. To be brought in for roboticizing." Zero introduced himself.

"Where is Lily?" Amy asked angrily.

"Lily…Unit L17Y, formerly known as Lily Bluebird, ex-member of the Battle Bird Armada and Freedom Fighters. Currently engineer unit on master Robotnik's fleet. This unit shall reunite you with Unit L17Y." Zero answered.

"Good. I'll get her back and in the mean time I'll reduce you to scrap metal!" Amy said as she fired the arrow at Zero, who caught the arrow in his hand. It vanished and warped back to Amy.

"Resistance if futile. This unit is equipped with newest tech and a Power Ring Matrix. Magicks do not affect this unit. Surrender and be saved a world of pain." Zero said.

"A world of pain for you." Amy said as she rushed at the machine who swiped his fists, Amy jumping over them, then trying to deliver a jump kick to Zero, but bounced of his armor. Zero then backhanded her and knocked her back. Amy fell down and slid down the ground on her back, but then got up and landed back on her feet.

She rushed back at Zero and jumped over the swipes of his arms and landed on his head. She grabbed an arrow and planted it in one of his optics by hand. That was a weak spot of his, it appears as he trashed as the arrow was embedded in his optic. He grabbed Amy and tossed her away as he then pulled out the arrow, opened a compartment in his stomach that had spare parts and replaced his broken optic with a new one.

"Okay, this is going to be tougher then I thought…my arrows don't work against him." Amy noted. She then noticed the bracelet she used to get back through the shields. "Wait…Tails said these things destroy themselves if one of Robotnik or Benedict's minions get their hand on it." She thought to herself. Amy removed the bracelet from her wrist and tossed it at Zero.

Zero instinctively caught the bracelet in his hand and stared at it curiously. "Object target threw at this unit seems to do no damage, why use it?" Zero wondered, until the bracelet flashed red and blew up in his face, in a small explosion that didn't really damage him, but dazed him and obscured his view. Once he was able to reconfigure his optics to see through the smoke he scanned for Amy, who had escaped.

Zero looked around and identified her footprints, and continued his mission. He followed the footprints. He came near a cliff and looked down to see a river down below. The footprints stopped there. Would Amy have jumped down in the river below? He then switched to a different vision, one that tracked heat signatures.

But before Zero could scan further. It was then that Amy swung down from a tree using a vine, knocked Zero over, who was sent hurtling over the cliff. Amy quickly pulled out an arrow and shot it at the hover engine on his bottom, as he plunged down below in the river.

"Oof, glad he's off my back…now I better get going before I get more hunters on my back." Amy said as she continued towards the UF chapter of the Robotnik empire.

But little did she know that Zero crawled out the river and manually started climbing back up the cliff. Amy has evaded him this time, but Zero would keep going until he had captured his target, and while he temporarily couldn't fly, that wouldn't stop him. He would get his prey. It's what he was made for. Before Amy and Lily would be reunited, a lot more needed to happen first…

TO BE CONTINUED


	83. Amy's adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE: AMY'S STORY, PART II

The United Federation's original capital Central City used to be a nice place, up until the invasion of Robotnik, who had the military outgunned and outclassed, not to mention the element of surprise. Now this was part of his territory. A roboticized GUN Commander named Hugo Brass was now the acting Sub-Boss in the area and the military that was captured were converted in Swat Paladin Units…

Amy has snuck into the city, through an abandoned amusement park, oddly enough…she had seen a sign with 'cute couples get in free' upon entering, and it reminded her of her mission and her sadness. She stood on top of a Ferris wheel and looked down using her binoculars. She saw the patrols of the Swatbots and the Roberlanders (as roboticized Overlanders were called).

The old GUN headquarters now was converted in the base for Robotnik's operations in Northammer. If she managed to get in there, she might be able to get back at Robotnik. But how was she going to do it?

However, she didn't get time to think about as something rushed over to her and attempted to smash her. Amy jumped off the Ferris Wheel, grabbed an arrow with a grapple, fired it, and used it to swing it so she could safely swing on top of some rollercoaster tracks. She looked around and saw the damaged Ferris Wheel, Zero on top. "Didn't I send you to sleep with the fishes?" she asked.

"Unit is not easily disabled like that. This unit will continue the assignment until the end. As long as this unit is still functional, the unit shall continue." Zero explained as he hovered over to Amy. Amy fired an arrow, but Zero dodged by floating aside. "You take pride in your accuracy…Now your streak ends here." Zero said as he rushed at Amy.

He claps his hands together, trying to crush Amy in between them, but she backflips to dodge and then fires two arrows in Zero's optics, but he caught them in his hands. He had learned from his mistakes. He tosses them away as he fires lasers from his optics, which she ducks under. "Come on…" Amy muttered. Zero lifted his fist. "Yes…" Amy thought as she dodged and Zero punched the tracks, but got stuck. Amy grabbed an arrow and manually pierced a shoulder joint, paralyzing his arm. She then planted one in the other arm. Zero was stuck.

"Oh yeah, metalface…I didn't miss earlier! I wasn't aiming at you!" Amy said as she pointed at a switch down below, near where the people used to wait in line to get on the rollercoaster. Amy slides down the rails and then agilely jumps up, fires another grappling arrow and swings away.

Zero turns around seeing a rollercoaster coming for him, Amy having activated it. "This unit starts to show signs of detest for the target." Zero muttered as the rollercoaster hit him, his arms fell off and he was sent flying over the horizon by the impact.

"I better get moving, if he survived that fall, he can survive this…" Amy said as she wanted to leave. But then she spotted a group of Swat Paladins. Because they were Roberlanders, she couldn't harm them so she had to avoid them. She went down the haunted house to hide, since that was the closest, and waited until the Roberlanders had passed.

"Oof!" she sighed as she leaned against a wall, only to find the wall opening like her door, and falling down a chute, as the wall closed up again. Once she had reached the end of the chute and landed softly on a matrass, she immediately was greeted by a group of Mobians in uniform, which pointed weapons at her.

"Intruder! How did she find our hideout?" one of them asked.

"Er…by accident, I was hiding from some Robotnik's minions." Amy explained.

"I don't know, it sounds screwy." One of them said.

"She isn't a Robian, that's for sure."

"Or a cyborg…"

"She could be a bounty hunter or assassin…" they started to argue.

"She's not!" a voice said as someone in a wheelchair arrived on the scene. His face was largely bandaged up so you couldn't see who it was. She only could make out blue eyes and brown fur. "She's part of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. She's an ally." He stated.

"Good to know…but where am I actually?" Amy asked the guy in the wheelchair.

"You're in the headquarters of the Secret Service. I'm the head of the Secret Service. Call me Mr. Tate." He said as he reached a hand for Amy, who politely shook.

"Sorry if I came barging in, I was hiding from Robotnik's troops and…" Amy said.

"It's nothing. But tell me, young lady, what brings you all the way out here?" Mr. Tate asked.

"One I hold dear was taken from me by Robotnik, and I want her back. I was hoping to find some info in one of Robotnik's territories." Amy explained.

"Ah yes, the turncoat battle bird…yes, I know all about you and your gang's back stories, Princess. We excel at spying and detective work after all." Mr. Tate noted.

"Really? In that case, can you help me?" Amy asked.

"You are not asking us a small thing…invading Robotnik's airship. To do so we need to go down deep into the base, which with Overlander technology is one of the most advanced bases Robotnik has. We have to steal flight plans for the fleet, and recharging stations, so we can intercept it. And to avoid that those flight plans change, we have to do it without being traced." Mr. Tate said.

"Wouldn't any of you do the same for the man or woman you love?" Amy asked.

Tate smiled amused under his bandages. "I guess you're right about that. Okay…we wanted to do a small raid on Brass' base, but now we need those flight plans and so we need to make a few adjustments to our new plan. I hope you don't mind working with a few of my agents for the time being? And since this is our mission, you are obliged by orders of my officers?"

"No, not at all. I'll respect the leadership of your officers." Amy stated.

"Very well then…You can join Sir Frogsworth's squad during the raid. I'll also send in one of our best hackers to aid with the retrieval of the flight plans. But I'm warning you, we are prone to punctuality. Timing is off the essence." Mr. Tate said.

"I understand. Just tell me when I need to get ready." Amy said, sure of herself.

Later on, Amy had joined with a group of the Secret Service. The group consisted of a Mobian frog, a platypus girl, a porcupine, and a turtle. "Okay Ms. Rose, let me introduce you to my team. I'm Frogsworth, my friends call me Froggy. I wish I could shake hands, but I'm a poison dart frog. These are Penelope, Dylan and Tommy. Okay, another group provides a distraction, we sneak in and raid some of their tech. Tommy is our expert hacker so she will guide you to get the flight plans." The frog said.

"Don't worry, I'm not a digital being like your friend, but I'm very handy with computers. I'll get those flight plans without leaving any traces." Tommy assured Amy.

"The plan's simple. Amy, you and Tommy go in on the right, from there is the shortest route to the main computer. While another squad distracts Brass' forces, we move in and steal the prototypes. You got it?" Froggy asked.

"Yes sir!" Amy said as she and Tommy moved out. As she and her companion snuck around the back, they noticed several Roberlanders moving out…in the distance she saw some smoke.

"The other squad is assaulting their transport vehicles. This place is a very important side for the development and construction of weapons so if one tiny things goes wrong, they jump right into action." Tommy noted as they snuck in through the back after Tommy picked the digital locks.

Amy and Tommy ran through the corridors…or at least Amy did dragging Tommy along. "Keep up, will you?" Amy asked.

"I'm a fast hacker, not a fast runner, I'm a turtle for Walkers' sake." Tommy moaned.

They came across the computer room. Tommy hacked the lock and they got in, as Tommy connected his laptop to the mainframe. "Okay, to hack without leaving traces I need a bit of time, but I'll be able to pull it off if we aren't disturbed." Tommy said as he dialed away. He then got a call on his Secret Service communicator. "Yes, Mr. Tate?"

"You have to hurry up, our spies have confirmed a new model Robotnik robot is inside and he's searching the factory for something. He might find you if you don't hack fast." The man replied.

"Hey Amy, you recognize this one?" Tommy asked as she showed a picture Mr. Tate sent him.

"Oh no…Zero! That thing has been chasing me around and it won't stay down no matter what I do! I threw it off a cliff, ran it over, and it just keeps coming back…you know what? It wants me, I lead it away, you keep hacking." Amy said.

"What about the flight plans?" Tommy asked.

"Send them to me later!" Amy said as she went outside. He crossed a few corridors as she saw Zero. "Hey robo-dork! You want me, see if you can catch me!" she mocked.

"Reprise hunt…target Amy Rose needs to be acquired." Zero said as he went after Amy. Amy led him right out of the factory, back in the amusement park she had encountered him earlier. "Running and hiding in here won't save you…this unit won't fall for your trick again!"

Amy just blew a raspberry but ran into the house of mirrors. Zero followed. He looked around, seeing warped images of himself in the mirror. He then thought he saw Amy, rushing at her and punching her, only to see he punched and shattered a mirror. Then he sees Amy again and punches, only to see it was another mirror. He then saw thousands of mirrors with Amy in it, who all blew raspberry's at him. Zero got confused and did all he could do: bring the entire house down. He fired and punched around, breaking mirrors and stuff, but when he was done and the floor was filled with glass shards, Amy was nowhere to be seen.

"This unit demands that you show yourself!" Zero groaned. It was then that something small fell on top of Zero and then onto the ground. Zero picked it up and saw it was a bolt of sorts. "What is this about?" Zero wondered. He then heard some creaking sound and looked up, seeing the roof was about to collapse on him. "This unit hates that girl!" and the entire house of mirrors collapsed on him.

It didn't destroy him, but it delayed him once more, as Amy could move back to Secret Service HQ, where the robot couldn't track her. "Sorry I'm late, got to deal with a robotic stalker. Tommy got the flight plans?" Amy asked.

"Indeed he did." Mr. Tate said as he handed some papers to her. "These show some flight plans and I also planned out a route you best can take…I see he plans to pit his Eurish chapter against the Mercian chapter Benedict controls, and that he later plans on refueling near Downunda. At one of those two stops you got the best change on getting on his ship." Mr. Tate explained.

"I want to thank you and your organization for your help. But now I got to go and save my girl!" Amy said.

"Then go…she needs you." Mr. Tate insisted. "Oh and…" Mr. Tate said as Amy wanted to leave, but he blocked. "…good luck!" he said. Amy smiled kindly as she waved the Secret Service goodbye and escaped to the surface through a secret exit.

"She was a Knothole Freedom Fighter, she could have helped you reunite with…" Froggy stated.

"I know." Mr. Tate said sadly.

"But then why didn't you do so? You put this all together so you could actively help her, but you never revealed your true self to them. Wouldn't they be glad to know that…" Froggy added.

"Not in a time like this. They believe someone else to be me, and they aren't very fond of him. Would they even believe me with how I look now? And they have moved on, they don't need me, they found their happiness. This is all I live for now." Mr. Tate said.

"But shouldn't they know the truth, knowing the one they despise as you is a man who lives of lies? Not all can be fixed, but reconciling can happen…you can at least be part of their lives again. Mr. Tate is a mask, why not put off that mask?" Froggy asked.

"Because it's not that simple…" Mr. Tate said, as a tear left his eye and soaked a part of his bandages. He pulled out a picture which displayed a family of Mobians, one that looked really familiar.

TO BE CONTINUED


	84. Amy's adventure III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR: AMY'S STORY, PART III

On the Swat Carrier, Robotnik was looking at one of his robotic subjects, in particular Zero. He was not pleased with him. "Let me get this straight, a princess gave you the slip, three times in a row? You, who are supposed to be the perfect hunter, stopped by a rollercoaster and a house of mirrors?" he asked.

"Master, the princess was more resourceful then I anticipated, I won't let myself be deluded anymore by the princess." Zero assured him, but Robotnik didn't look amused or convinced.

"I won't take that risk…it appears you can't handle this on your own, so I'm assigning two of my servants to aid you in this little game of cat and mouse. If you still manage to mess up, you go to the junkyard and you'll be recycled for a better mark of robot I'll create!" Robotnik said as he snapped his fingers.

Two pair of red optics started to light up from the back of the room. Zero recognized the owners. "Interesting…" he stated.

Near the coast, somewhere outside of Mercia a battle was going on. Not only did the Robotnik Empire and the Legion fight one another, they fought each other as well. The Eurish Chapter of Robotnik's Empire had Mercia under attack, but the Legionized Mercians fought back hard. Several boats and airships had appeared over the horizon, the Legion immediately took action with land assault vehicles, turrets and their own airships.

They blasted the ships from the water, making them sink, while at the same times their foes blew up their tanks. Some Robians have made it onto the beach, courtesy of a range of smaller subs and scuba diving, where a platoon of Legionized Mercians and Fox Fighters waited for them.

The Fox Fighters and the Swatbots fought ferociously. They were literally ripping each other apart, dismantling one another completely, either through brute force or with the wide array of weapons they got. The Robians and the Legionnaires on the other hand were less brutal…though in both skill and strength, they were equal.

But it was the Legion that had the advantage, they were on the mainland, so any supplies they need were near, while for the Robians their supplies needed to come from overseas, so it appeared Benedicts wouldn't need to lose his conquered territory.

Amongst these Legionnaires happened to be no one else but Lil' John Lightfoot. His arms and legs were Legionized after his captures, increasing his strength and jumping powers. He also had a collapsible bo staff, of which the parts he kept in a storage compartment on his arms.

With his bo-staff he swats away some Fox Fighters, sending them flying. Several more surround him, but he plants his bo staff into the ground and swings around on hit, knocking them all away. Then he got off, swings the staff and knocks several more in the distance, into the sea before he brings his staff down and crushes some Fox Fighter heads.

But that changed when something came down on the battlefield, rushed at John and knocked him down. It was Zero. Lil' John wasn't afraid of the big machine and rushed at him with his staff out and tried to bash him, but Zero caught the staff in his hands and took it away. He then tossed it in the sea nearby.

Lil John then rushed at him and delivers a strong double jump kick, which knocked Zero back. The cyborg rabbit was strong, but Zero has been hit with a rollercoast and an entire building and got out fine, so he was not dented by any of John's attack. John pounded him with his robotic fists. But Zero blocked with his arms and then grabbed Johnny's face and slammed him into a rock that was near on the beach.

He lifted both of his fists, ready to finish the job, but then an arrow flew by and distracted him. He looked away to see a glimpse of someone in a cloak standing on top of a cliff and running off. Zero only got a brief look at it, but when he replayed the footage in his mind, he managed to recognize the bow it used as the one used by Amy. "Resume chase of designated target!" Zero said as he left John alone and chased Amy.

Lil John Lightfoot found the arrow that had saved him and picked it from the sand and looked at it. It was familiar to him. The dull mindless look he had ever since legionizing faded as he recognized it: "Amy?" he wondered before the enchanted arrow vanished and warped back in Amy's quiver. However, he didn't get time to recall as more Fox Fighters and Robians arrived on the scene and advanced on him. John just took a battle pose and readied himself to continue fighting.

Amy had seen the fight between two villain teams, and while she was afraid some unfortunate Mobians or Legionnaires might fall in the battle, the battle quickly became one sided so it wouldn't take one and casualties would be minimal to none. But she couldn't see her old friend John get hurt by Zero and even if she had to get chased by the robot again, she had to draw it's attention away. She had eluded Zero before so she figured she could do it again.

Already she knew the robot had noticed her and was hot on her trail. She rushed into Deerwood forest, Zero on her trail, leading Zero away to a place where she would use the environment to her advantage and take Zero out like she did earlier.

However as she ran through the forest she was taken by surprise when something landed in front of her, and blew up, the shockwave of it knocking her back. She looked up and saw something come from the sky and land in front of her. "Lily?" Amy asked.

It was indeed Lily, or rather Mecha Lily right now. "Surprised to see me, Amy?" Lily had more personality in her voice this time, unlike last time where she reported to Robotnik. But aside from the metallic tone in her voice, there was something different about it, something menacing.

"Lily, I don't want to fight you." Amy said shocked.

"Then don't, give in and become one of us. We'll be together forever, immortal, invulnerable!" Lily said seductively.

"But…Robotnik…" Amy stammered.

"Hasn't cursed us, he has blessed us, and I want to share this blessing with you!" Lily said.

Amy stood defiantly. "Sorry to say, but you're deluded. I came to save you, and that's what I'm going to do."

"Shame, don't want to be saved. Guess we have to show you the blessing by force. Sorry it has to be this way, but you'll thank me later." Lily said.

Amy soon saw not only Zero had caught up, but a third robot has entered the fray. And the robot looked a lot like her. "A Metallix? I thought Robotnik wouldn't want to do anything with his past as Eggman again?" Amy said.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean he should have hold on to the more useful tech. Though this Metallix won't compare to you once you and I are together as Robians. Call her a stand-in!" Mecha Lily said.

The Metallix Amy's arms transformed into a pair of mechanized crossbows and aimed it at her organic counterpart, firing several laser arrows at Amy, who does some backflips to dodge them. Then Zero rushed in and tries punching Amy, who jumps up and lands on his arm and kicks his face, knocking Zero back.

She then barely dodges some darts tossed by Mecha Lily, or rather her feather-shaped robotic fingertips which she can fire as projectiles. "You don't want to hurt me, Lily!" Amy begged.

"I don't really want to…but on the other hand, your injuries will vanish once you are roboticized so don't be mad if I roughen you a bit up!" Lily said as she fired her projectiles at Amy. Amy ran around to dodge.

"Okay, you asked for it." Amy said as she grabbed a rope, bound two of her arrows together, and fired them both, which wrapped around Lily like bola's. "I'm sorry, but this is for your own good!"

But then Metallix Amy fired more laser arrows. Amy quickly fired some of her own, but they bounced of one another and hit trees next to the respective users instead. She then rolled aside as Zero attempts to pound her into the ground. "Three against one, that's going to be tough." Amy stated.

Lily broke free and grabbed Amy from behind. "You're going nowhere, my little pretty!" Mecha Lily whispered. Amy planted her feet on a nearby tree and ran up on it, breaking free from Lily's grip, flipping over her and knock her into the ground.

Metallix Amy disconnected one of her hands and merged the two crossbows on her left hand into one big one. She then fired bigger, more rapid laser arrows. Amy did her best to dodge, but then she found two laser arrows pinning her feet to the ground without hitting her feet. The Metallix was nearly as accurate as her. Then two more arrows pinned her hands to the trees by her bracelets. "Oh no…" Amy said. These arrows were strong and she couldn't break free to reach for her arrows.

Zero then punched Amy out cold with a single punch. As Amy slipped into unconsciousness, she could vaguely hear: "Mission successful." In Zero's robotic tone.

"Well, I got my prize. Let's bring her to the Carrier and prepare her to join our ranks." Mecha Lily said as she put the unconscious Amy over her shoulder as the three robots flew off…

TO BE CONTINUED


	85. Amy's adventure IV

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE: AMY'S STORY, PART IV

Amy woke up with a major headache, in a small cell with a lavatory, a dirty looking toilet and a plank held up with chains to the wall they are supposed to call a bed. She rubbed her head and looked through the barred door, seeing Robotnik, Mecha Lily and a robot Amy didn't know, alongside several Swatbots staring at her. "Looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up!" Robotnik gloated.

"I so wish Zero had killed me, then at least I wouldn't have to look at your ugly face!" Amy moaned.

"But that'd be a waste of skills and knowledge I need. You managed to elude Zero, who was designed to be a perfect hunter more than once, you are an archer who can hit a fly from a mile away without killing it and you have valuable knowledge of Mercia that might prove useful when I take that piece of territory from Benedict. No, you'll be roboticized." Robotnik stated.

"Why am I not already?" Amy wondered.

"I'm a busy man…and I love to see the roboticizing of you Freedom Fighters personally. Though I could do it myself, I thought that your girlfriend here should have the honors. It's always nice to have a backup roboticizer on-board." Robotnik gloated.

"Even if you roboticize me, you won't get away with this, my friends will kick your butts and turn me and Lily back to normal." Amy said.

"Oh please, like I haven't heard that before. You and Lily's knowledge of the Freedom Fighters will help me capture them and they'll share the same fate as you. Being my faithful servants and help me conquer this world." Robotnik said.

"You couldn't control Sonic when he was a Badnik. What makes you say you can do it as a Robian?" Amy stated.

"I won't. A waste, yes, but I don't take risks with him. I'll destroy him, not making that mistake." Robotnik said. He then looked on his watch. "But first I got to make a quick check on the roboticizer. I barely use it since I have one in my arsenal so it might be a bit rusty. In the mean time Gamma will guard you." Robotnik said as he prepared to take his leave.

"Don't worry, my dear. It will not hurt. Okay, maybe a bit but in the end you'll feel better than ever." Lily assured Amy as she left too.

Amy felt sad as she huddled in a corner, on the brink of tears. The robot she didn't recognize stood in front of her cell door, standing guard. Amy felt she had failed. What was she thinking leaving on her own? Granted she managed to hold out, but on her own she could have never saved Lily. Of course she wasn't thinking straight. But now she'll pay for her mistake in the worst way possible.

"Why are you leaking?" the robot asked as it saw Amy cry. Amy never suspected such a question from something that was an emotionless robot built by Eggman.

"It's called crying. Mobians cry when they are sad, happy or have something in their eye." Amy explained, though she didn't know why she was talking to the robot.

"Which one of those reasons do you have for this 'crying'?" the robot asked.

"I'm sad…not you'd understand." Amy said. She had wished the robot would stop asking things, but at the same time she wondered why a robot would ask questions like these.

"Why are you feeling 'sad'?" he asked.

"Your master turned my friend in a robot. And he'll do the same for me. Of course you wouldn't understand, you are born a robot, you wouldn't know what it's like to lose your Mobianity." Amy explained.

"What is a friend?" the robot asked.

"Someone you care for, someone who looks after you. Someone to respect." Amy explained. Why kept she answering all these questions?

"Is Robotnik a friend?" the robot asked again.

"No. Robotnik does not consider anyone his friend. He all demands everyone to bow down to him, and those who don't get converted against their will. A friendship is amongst those who consider each other equals." Amy stated.

"Robotnik…no friend? Does Gamma not have friends?" Gamma wondered.

"Gamma…that's your name?" Amy asked. The robot didn't say anything, but nodded. Amy felt something different about this robot. "You're not like the other robots, are you?"

"I feel…different, yes." Gamma admitted.

"I can be your friend, if you want." Amy said sympathetically to the robot.

"Why would you?" Gamma asked.

"I know you're different. Someone like you shouldn't be without friends. Besides, I feel it in my gut. My gut never lies." Amy said as she reached out her hand through the bars. Gamma looked at it confused. "You shake hands, it's a sign of friendship." Amy explained.

Gamma moved his robot hand up and down, making Amy giggle. "No, you first take my hand and then you shake, silly." Amy said. Gamma curiously looked at Amy's hand and took it, before they started shaking. "Okay, you can now let go." Amy said as they were shaking for a while. Gamma let go as Amy giggled.

"What is that wonderful sound you make?" Gamma asked.

"It's laughing. You do it when you're happy." Amy explained.

"Happy…Gamma feels happy to have a friend. But I can't laugh." Gamma stated.

"You'll learn to laugh, eventually. But not from me, I'm afraid. I'll be roboticized soon enough. And then I'll not be the same again. Robotnik will change me." Amy said.

"But…I don't want you to change." Gamma stated.

"Then…please help me. It's what friends do! Help me stop Robotnik. He cannot change people like that. It's wrong…I know you know right from wrong, you are not a mindless machine." Amy begged.

Gamma thought for a moment. Amy was afraid the logical part of his mind would not allow him to, but then Gamma shot the lock of the door, allowing the door to open. "Gamma helps his friend!"

"Gamma…thank you!" Amy said smiling. "Now, will you help me save another friend of mine?" she asked.

"Gamma wants to help!" Gamma agreed. With that, he and Amy left the scene.

"Attention, Swatbots! Sonic and his friends have entered the ship and thereby demand you mobilize to the deck and slow them down. Prepare the prisoner for roboticizing while I prepare Chaos." Robotnik said over the intercom. Robotnik would have loved to see Amy getting roboticized by Lily in a sadistic way, but Sonic had denied him that fun.

"Oh dear…" Amy noted. It was then that Mecha Lily appeared, having made her way to the prison cell, but meeting the two on the way here. Gamma then grabbed Amy with his arm and pointed the gun at her head. "Gamma, what the…"

"Trust Gamma…" he said softly as he turned to Mecha Lily. "I brought the organic unit to be roboticized." He said to Mecha Lily.

"Ah, very thoughtful of you Gamma. No wonder Robotnik speaks high of you. Bring her along. She'll join us…" Lily said as she led the way. Gamma and Amy followed.

They came across the Roboticizer chamber. "Now, put her on the platform, I'll do the lever work." Lily ordered. Gamma did as told. Amy didn't like it, she didn't know if Gamma had betrayed her or not…she could not be sure.

"I'm interested in how this works…can you turn organics into robots, and vice-versa?" Gamma asked.

"Yep. You see, to switch settings, just push that button and pull that lever, and you can either make a Mobian to Robian or Robian to Mobian." Lily explained.

"Good to know!" Gamma said as he aimed his gun at Lily and shot her, as she fell down off-line. He then pushes a button and Amy was released from the pod. "I've stunned her. Now I can help your friend." Gamma noted.

"I was right about you…Thanks Gamma! But now help me put her in the chamber." Amy said happily. She and Gamma then put Lily on the platform. Gamma pushed a button and a lever, to change the settings. Then Gamma pushed a button…

A bright light engulfed the Robian Lily, as it crawled up from her head to her toes, changing robotic plating back to flesh and blood, and feathers. Lily groaned and opened her eyes as she wondered: "Er…where's Robotnik, did we win?" she wondered.

"Lily! You're back!" Amy said as she hugged her lover.

"Amy…what am I doing here?" Lily asked.

"You were roboticized, but I managed to cure you with help from this robot." Amy stated.

"I was a robot? Oh gosh, I hope I didn't hurt anyone…wait, did one of Robotnik's robots help you?" Lily asked surprised.

"No…you helped in the capture of me, but it wasn't your fault. And yes, this robot helped me. But there's no time. Sonic is on board, and he might need our help now and…we can catch up later, we need to get out of this place." Amy explained.

"Er…but first I need a few new garbs, somehow my clothes didn't survive the roboticizing." Lily said a bit embarrassed.

"I thought of that…but I need my backpack. Gamma, you know where it is?" Amy replied.

"I do. This way!" Gamma stated as he led Amy and Lily down a corridor. He then pulled Amy's belongings from a room containing the stuff of the prisoners that were roboticized. Inside, there were a spare outfit, a collapsible hoverboard and a set of darts for Lily.

"You think of everything, Princess of my heart." Lily complimented.

"Okay, now we meet up with Sonic and stop Robotnik. You're with us, Gamma?" Amy said.

"Gamma does what's right!" Gamma stated.

"Then let's go!" Amy said as they left to join the battle…

END OF CHAPTER


	86. Amy's adventure V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX: AMY'S STORY, PART V

Gamma, Lily and Amy now ran through the corridors, after overhearing that Sonic and his friends are on the ship as well. They tried to get out, but found Zero and the Amy Metallix to block their paths. "Not these guys again!" Amy moaned.

Gamma aimed his guns at Zero and the Metallix, but they both fired at him, knocking him through a wall, onto the deck. "Hey, that's my friend, you meanie!" Amy said.

"Friend…with a robot? Illogical. But it doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to finish the hunt I started. Roboticizing you is a waste. I'm getting back at you for humiliating me earlier." Zero said, sounding a bit unhinged.

"Two words for you, Zero! Fire extinguisher!" Amy said as he grabbed a fire extinguisher from next to her and sprayed it in Zero and the Metallix' faces.

Lily tore a panel from the floor and grabbed two wires from it. "Look out, this is a shocker!" Lily said as she held the wires to Zero and the Metallix, shocking them and shutting them down. "Good thing we are quick thinkers…" Lily noted.

"Better look if Gamma is okay…" Amy said as she and Lily stepped through the hole in the wall. They looked around for Gamma, then they saw him. Gamma had been dazed and walked onto the battle scene between Sonic and Sally and the Swatbots. Sonic was fighting with him, thinking he was one of Robotnik's mindless drones.

They saw Sonic rushing at Gamma. Amy didn't hesitate, jumped in between Sonic and Gamma and yelled: "STOP!"

"Amy? What are you doing here? And why are defending this machine?" Sonic asked.

"Long story…but this robot is not bad, he helped me and Lily escape! He's not bad!" Amy said.

"Lily? But wasn't she…" Sally noted.

As if on cue, Lily arriving onto the scene. "Hey guys!"

"Lily? You're okay, you're no longer…robotic." Sally said.

"Just put me back in the roboticizer and hit the reverse button and I was okay again. And thank goodness too, I was forced to build Battle Bird tech to upgrade his machinery in that state." Lily explained.

"What about this…robot?" Sonic asked as he pointed at the red robot.

"Gamma? I don't know, I just talked to him and he all of a sudden gained free will. He's my friend now." Amy said.

"Friend…" the robot called Gamma muttered.

"Well, if he really helped you, then he's good in my book. Sorry I attacked you, big fella. Friends?" Sonic said as he reached out his hand.

Gamma stared at the hand confused. "Gamma, shaking hands, sign of friendship." Amy reminded him.

Gamma grabbed Sonic's hand and shook hand. "You…are now Gamma's friend?" Gamma asked.

"Yep!" Sonic assured him. It was then that the ship shifted back to its normal position, so our heroes could go to higher grounds. "I think Knucklehead just made himself useful." Sonic added.

"Come on, I guess everyone wants a shot at Robotnik!" Sally said as she and the others moved on.

Then they came across Robotnik, joined by Orbot, Cubot and Elise. "No, who gave the order to reconfigure the ship back to its old state?" Robotnik said angrily.

"I dunno, Boss! Guess there's anotha joik on board who found the lever." Cubot said, still in his mobster Brooklyn accent.

"Someone called?" Knuckles said as he also arrived on the scene. "You didn't think I was going to miss the party, did I?"

"Not at all, there's enough butt in 'Buttnik' to be kicked!" Sonic said.

"Er…don't you think it'd be a good idea to call Chaos, sir?" Orbot asked.

"Right, good I thought of that. Chaos, come here!" Robotnik said as he pulled out two more Chaos Emeralds, the yellow and cyan ones. Chaos rose up once it sensed the emeralds, and Robotnik tossed them into the creature. It started to transform once more, now into a spider/frog-esque creature with a scorpion-like tail.

"Now I'll finally get rid of some of my least favorite people: the leaders of the Freedom Fighters, the guardian, that traitor Gamma, the princess of Mercia and the girl who wished she'd still be roboticized. Chaos, suppertime!" Robotnik said.

"When will he learn, you can throw him at us as many times as you like, but you can't defeat us. Come on, Freedom Fighters…and robot. Let's show them what we're made off!" Sonic said as the six heroes charged at Chaos 6.

Chaos starts by lashing with his tail, trying to swipe at our heroes, but they all were fast enough to dodge. Sonic tried to home in on the beast, but it's liquid skin has become so strong thanks to the new emeralds he bounces of him. "Okay, he couldn't do that last time!"

Amy fired her arrows, Lily her explosive darts and Gamma fired his gun, but it still only made it's skin ripple, but nothing much else. Knuckles tried to punch him but he bounced of it, and Sally's scythe couldn't cut through it either. Chaos then fired lightning, which the heroes again barely dodged. "Okay, this time he might actually prove a problem." Knuckles stated.

"Let's spice up things a bit more. Let's help Chaos out directly, shall we?" Robotnik said as he and Elise jumped down on the battle field as Orbot and Cubot mounted Robo-mobiles with various weaponry.

Sally would take on Elise while Robotnik would fight Sonic. Gamma would deal with Cubot and Orbot while Amy and Lily helped Knuckles fight Chaos. Butbthings don't see to go well for them.

Knuckles shot forward, dodging Chaos' tail as he punched it, knocking it off, but it just grew back as Chaos lunged forward and charged into Knuckles, knocking him away. Amy and Lily grabbed arrows and projectiles, and tossed it at his eyes, hoping that'd work, but it only dazed him before his eyes regrew as well. "Okay, tough customer." Knuckles muttered.

Chaos fired lightningbolts from his eyes, but Knuckles and the girls dodged. Knuckles then charged forward and punches Chaos in the face several times, knocking it back, before Lily and Amy pelted it's face with their projectiles. It only made him angrier as he roared and knocked the trio over with his tail.

He raised his tail again, ready to finish them. But then something shot at Chaos and froze him like an icicle. Amy and Lily turned around to see that they had hijacked one of the Robo-Mobiles and had fired the ice beam at him. "Okay guys, now give it everything you got!" Sally warned.

"All right!" Sonic said as he spin-dashed into Chaos, breaking one part of its icy body and the blue emerald falling out.

Amy was next, fires and arrow that breaks another part and the purple emerald flies out.

Lily throws an explosive dart that blows up another part, the cyan emerald dropping out.

Knuckles punched one of the remaining part, and the grey emerald flung out.

Finally Sally destroyed the last piece of the icy Chaos and the yellow emerald came out as it shattered.

The heroes picked up the emeralds, as Sonic mocked: "You lose Buttnik!"

"No! Chaos was supposed to be invincible…but no matter, I still got my…" Robotnik moaned.

"Ship!" Orbot said.

"Yeah, that's right."

"No, ship!" Orbot said as he pointed at another airship next to them, Benedict's in fact (the Vulpin), ready for a collision course.

"Oh crud!" Normally Robotnik piloted the flagship with his own computer-like mind, but he wouldn't be able to react in time since he was so close to the Vulpin now, and he hadn't seen it coming due to Benedict's own cloaking tech and the fact he had been distracted.

The two ships collided head-on, rocking both and making our heroes drop the emeralds, which went overboard due to the rocking of the ships. "I thought Benedict was a better pilot then that!" Sally said.

"I think our buddy Tails might have thrown off the flagship like we did for this one…Now it seems is a good time to leave. But how?" Sonic asked.

"I can glide, and the robot has a jetpack, Lily has that flying board…but I don't think the rest of you can fly or anything." Knuckles said.

"The damage to these Robomobiles was minimal, I can still fix them up real quickly…" Lily said as she pulled out a spanner and a screwdriver and quickly tinkered with them. "They aren't perfect, but at least we should get to solid ground now." Lily said.

"Okay everyone, now let's bail!" Sonic said as he and Sally boarded the first Robo-Mobile and Amy the second. The remaining heroes just flew or glided safely towards the ground as the airships behind them headed towards the ground.

Amy and Lily landed somewhere out in the jungle. "Okay, that was a close one…I hope the others are okay." Amy panted.

"They will be, they're tough. They're probably out there in the jungle as well, waiting to meet up with us." Lily said.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go and find them!" Amy suggested as she tried to run off but Lily grabbed her arm and halted her.

"They can wait a little longer…let's have some time to ourselves first." Lily said with a seductive grin.

"Lily, you were roboticized for weeks and the first thing you think of is..." Amy stated.

"I have been trapped as a robotic shell for weeks, of course I have urges. But it's just that we're now together again and I want to enjoy every moment of it now…" Lily said as she put her hand on Amy's cheek and another around her waist.

"Well if you put it that way…" Amy said, now sporting the same seductive grin as Lily…

However, when a laser arrow zoomed by and barely missed them, they quickly broke apart and readied themselves. They saw Zero and the Amy Metallix, having reactivated themselves and having survived the crash of the airship. "Won't you stay down? Don't you see me and my Lilybell want to enjoy ourselves?" Amy said angrily.

"I have taken enough of your abuse, now I end it…permanently. And if that deroboticized traitor wants to get in my way, so be it! Zero said, sounding crazy, having snapped under the defeats he suffered at Amy's hands.

"You're right…it's time to end it!" Amy said as she took out her bow and arrow. Lily grabs her darts and jumped on her Extreme Gear, while the Metallix Amy raised her crossbow arms and Zero's eyes glowed…

TO BE CONTINUED


	87. Amy's adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN: AMY'S STORY, PART VI

Last time, we saw how Amy and Lily had escaped the Swat Carrier, helped taking out Chaos and then how they landed in the jungle. There, Zero and the Metallix Amy were waiting for them, ready to settle the score once and for all.

Since the Metallix Amy is made to battle her counterpart, Lily shot straight at it to keep it away from Amy while Amy went for Zero, ready to put him down permanently.

Zero began by firing laser blasts from his eyes, Amy spinning her bow in front of her like a shield to deflect them. Zero then rushed in for close combat as he tries to crush Amy by clapping his hands together, but Amy jumps up, landed on the closed hands and fired an arrow in Zero's eye, destroying it. Zero staggered back, and this time he had no spare parts. The arrow warped itself back in Amy's quiver.

Zero puts his hands together and creates and orb of energy in his hands and fired it at Amy, who jumps aside. Zero kept firing more energy balls, forcing Amy to keep jumping aside or backflipping to dodge them all. Amy then found herself pinned against a tree as Zero moved closer and wanted to shove an energy ball in Amy's face from close range. Amy grabbed an arrow, planted it against the tree and used it as a mount to jump over Zero as he smashed the orb in the tree, destroying the bottom, as the tree fell over, but Zero punched the tree in half before it could crush him.

But this allowed Amy to jump on top and manually plant an arrow in his head, Zero flailing wildly to get Amy of him, before he rushed with his head towards a tree, planning on crushing Amy in between him and the tree, as Amy jumped off. Amy rolled over the ground, while at the same time loading another arrow in her bow and ready to fire, but Zero was ready as he backhands Amy before she could do so, knocking her away and the bow out of her hand.

Zero picked up the bow in his hand and one of Amy's arrows, planning on killing Amy with her own weapons. A dazed Amy didn't get up in time as the arrow was fired, and she wouldn't be able to dodge. But the arrow vanished before it hit her and reappeared in her quiver. "Ebony enchanted those arrows to only hurt bad people. It won't hurt me because I'm pure…now I'd like my bow back!" Amy said.

"Take it from me!" Zero taunted. Amy rushed forward at Zero, who flew back out of her reach as he fired another energy orb from his hand, as Amy rolled under it, then grabbed another one of her arrows. She removes one of the mystic symbols on the arrow and then manually tosses it at Zero, who catches it in his hand.

"I removed the limiter symbol on my arrow…so if it warps back…" Amy noted, as the arrow warped back to her, and taking Zero's arm with it, which appears in Amy's hands. It was heavy, but Amy was strong and was able to wield it like a flail and uses it to pummel it's owner.

After taking a few hits, Zero dropped Amy's bow and was dazed. Amy took the arrow she removed the limit spell on, ripped the fist of Zero's arm, planted it on top and aimed the arrow with the fist at Zero. "Hey Zero! Stop hitting yourself!" Amy said as she fired it, the arrow flying at blinding speeds at Zero, with the tip being Zero's own hand, made from the same material as his armor, thus it pierced right through him, creating a hole in his stomach.

"Hunt…aborted…prey…became the hunter!" Zero stammered as he sparked and exploded in a burst due to his damage, leaving his bits and pieces scattered everywhere.

Lily on her hoverboard was chased by Metallix Amy, who flew thanks to the jet boosters under her skirt. Morphing her arms back to crossbows, she fired laser arrows again. Lily did some acrobatic moves to dodge the laser arrows. She then pulled out a few of her feather darts, who had a bladed edge so she could swat away the laser arrows, before she tosses them at Metallix Amy, who dodged in the sky, but one arrow cut off one of her metallic quills.

Metallix Amy then retaliated as her other quills sprang up and then were fired like missiles, which went after Lily. Lily now had the missiles on her tail, so she used some sharp turns and tricks to make a few of the quill missiles hit trees or the ground, but some were still hot on her trail while Metallix Amy continued firing her arrows.

Lily turned around and now rushed towards Metallix Amy, who was surprised at this, but still fired her laser arrows. Lily dodged them all before she pulled up and the missiles came for Metallix Amy. The robot managed to blast a few missiles of, but one of them hit her, hitting her and sending her tumbling down to the ground, damaged. She found her flight functions disabled and one of her crossbows damaged..

Lily shot towards the ground and rushed at Metallix Amy. The latter split her undamaged crossbow into two smaller blades, which she prepared to slice Lily apart, who used her board as a shield, having made the Extreme Gear durable enough to be used for offense and defense. Lily dismounted her board and then hold it and smashed Metallix Amy with it, using the board as a weapon.

Now Lily and Metallix Amy exchanged blows with the Extreme Gear and the bow swords. But Metallix Amy struck with several savage swipes, forcing Lily on the defensive and pushing her back. Lily was then forced onto her knees as the Metallix Amy kept slamming her swords onto the board, hoping to break Lily's defenses.

Lily was on the brink of defeat, but she thought quickly and pushed a button on her Extreme Gear. She always built something in her Extreme Gear in case of emergency. At the bottom of her board, two slit-shaped slots opened and fired feather darts, right into Metallix Amy's hands, which then exploded and took out her arms and weapons.

Lily then got up and smacked Metallix Amy's head with the board, breaking one of her optics in the progress. She then tampered with the board briefly, then activated it, sending it flying into Metallix Amy (without her riding it) dragging the Metallix along for a ride until it shot in the air, exploding, and taking the robotic doppelganger with hit, with her parts raining down onto the scene.

"Whoa…that was intense!" Amy noted.

"Yeah, but I at least they're staying down. Now, where were we?" Lily said.

"We'll just have to go somewhere else. It's kind of off-putting being surrounded by the remains of these robotic fiends." Amy said.

"You're right, let's move somewhere else…" Lily said as Amy and Lily moved away from the scene. Later they'd join up with their friends again, but for now the two reunited lovers would rekindle the flames inside…

TO BE CONTINUED


	88. Gamma's adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT: GAMMA'S STORY, PART I

Robotnik looked from behind the glass, down into the huge room below, his floating robotic assistants and Elise by his side as they were about to watch the show. "Let them all in!" Robotnik ordered. In the room below, twenty-two near identical robots marched in: golden dome heads, backwards legs, guns for a hand…the only thing that differs between them was their coloring and the shape of their guns.

"All the E-100 series are present and accounted for, with the exceptions of E-100 Alpha and E-123 Omega. The former is getting modified as you ordered and the latter is put in storage on a distant location until we can figure out to deal with its temper." Orbot noted.

"Bad-a-bing, bad-a-boom! They all look fancy and schmancy and stuff! I'm sure those Freedom joiks will bite the dust!" Cubot said enthusiastically.

"They look ridiculous. I hope they shoot better than their appearance let on." Elise said, sounding bored.

"That's what I'm going to find out. I'm going to put them against a small army of Swatbots and see how well they'll fair. Let the show begin!" Robotnik said as he pushed a button and let loose a whole bunch of Swatbots, who advanced on the E-Series.

The twenty-two identical robots turned to the Swatbots and aimed their weapons, firing away. Shots flew everywhere, scrapping Swatbots along the way, but they still kept coming, as they were meant to outnumber the E-Series. A few E-series were ambushed and overrun by a herd of Swatbots and torn apart. "Units Eta and Phi are down, sir!" Orbot stated.

The other E-Series continued to fight off the Swatbots easily. The one in red in particular was mowing down a lot of foes, as his shots were more accurate than those of the others and with each shot he took out one of the Swatbots out instantly, he was the most efficient.

Another one, a black one, was not so accurate with his shots, but he made that up with the power of his shots, which created small bursts that damaged everything in radius, making him quite the powerhouse. However, he didn't care who got in his way, including the other E-Series, of which he managed to break down two… "Units Kappa and Lambda really got the woist of it." Cubot added.

While the other E-Series were decent in their own right, the Swatbots began overwhelming them and were torn apart, cutting their ranks down in half. The red one, Gamma got an idea and shot the lighting in the room. The Swatbots had to stop for a few moments to switch to nightvision, but that split second was all they needed, as Gamma now started blasting like a madman at the Swatbots, reducing them to burning scrap.

Gamma on the other hand had snuck up on a group of Swatbots and taken them out with a headshot each before he moves to the background, as the Swatbots saw Beta as the biggest threat and focused on him, but Gamma started picking them off one by one, like a pack of lions isolating one herbivore for them to gangbang and tear apart.

"Mh…Beta is ruthless, vicious…I like it! And Gamma…he's more for efficiency, quick and simple. That's what I seek in a good assassin." Robotnik noted.

"Hey, and what do you think I am?" Elise said moodily.

"You're technically a spy and infiltrator." Orbot noted, as Elise put a hand on his head, pinned him into the ground and pressed him back in his ball form.

"Smart-ass!" she muttered.

The Swatbots are all destroyed, and there were only five of the about twenty E-series left. Except for the black Beta and the red Gamma, a blue, an orange and a purple robot (though it was missing his arms) were left, but they were just lucky the Swatbots hadn't gotten the chance to dismantle them yet.

"So…not really impressive. Yeah, they scrap a few bots, but the Freedom Fighters do that too on a daily base." Elise noted.

"I just wanted to pick out the best of the best. It appears Gamma and Beta are the best. I'm having my doubts on the other robots, but they are still relatively undamaged so they might still prove useful. Except Zeta…he might be more useful if we convert him in a different form, I need something to replace that defective data core in one of my airships." Robotnik noted.

"What you want us to do with the other robots, sir?" Orbot asked.

"I want you to upgrade Beta, if he already has this much power, think how much of a tank he'll be if he's totally weaponized. Gamma on the other hand would make a perfect assassin, working from the shadows and putting bullets through brains without notice. I need his intelligence updated a little." Robotnik ordered.

"Consider it done, boss!" Cubot saluted.

Later on, Gamma was brought onto a platform, a device shaped like a laser cannon above him, aiming at him. "The upgrade is nearly ready to upload, sir!" Orbot stated.

"Er…boss, dontcha think that thing looks like overkill for the screwin' up of some bolts in the metal brain?" Cubot asked.

"This special unit only deserves the best, now prepare the download!" Robotnik ordered. Orbot immediately did so as the device charged up and blasted Gamma with a shot of energy, which didn't harm him, but in the robot's optics, binary code could be seen flashing.

However, the console started to spark, as did the device. "Sir, there are some technical difficulties!" Orbot said a bit panicky.

"ABORT!" Robotnik ordered, as Orbot tried to dial away, but the buttons wouldn't respond. "Somebody do something!" Robotnik shouted.

Elise just walked over to a wall and pulled out a plug, shutting the entire thing down. "I don't know whether that's comical or disappointing." Elise noted.

"Is the Gamma unit still okay?" Robotnik said, ignoring Elise's comment.

Orbot flew over and studied Gamma "He seems fine, but he doesn't seem to be (Gamma jerks awake) ALIVE!" Orbot said, that last word like he was startled.

"Okay…Do you know who you are and what you're here for?" Robotnik asked Gamma.

"I am…Gamma. Gamma exists to serve the Robotnik empire. What is the master's command?" Gamma asked.

"His speech pattern is a bit mixed up, but it appears the download was a success." Orbot stated.

"Very good. Okay Gamma, now for your first field job. I need you, Epsilon and Delta to go out to the Great Desert, where one of the Chaos Emeralds is supposed to be. When you're done, come meet me at the City of the Ancients, where I will have the other Emeralds ready." Robotnik noted.

"Affirmative. I shall do as you say. Gamma will recover the Emerald!" Gamma stated.

"Shucks, and I thought my speech pattern was screwed up!" Cubot noted.

"His is at least less annoying…but I have more important things to worry about then your voice chip, that can wait. The more emeralds we have, the more chance we have to convert Ch'auzz to our cause, and that's all that matters. Mobius shall be mine." Robotnik said.

"Why does the master seek control of the planet?" Gamma asked.

"Intellectual curiosity…I like that in a minion. But you shouldn't ask questions that are of no importance to you, Gamma. All you need to know is that you're going to be part of something big." Robotnik assured him.

Robotnik had rubbed it off as part of Gamma's newfound wits, but little did he know something more had literally sparked in Gamma that day…

TO BE CONTINUED


	89. Gamma's adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE: GAMMA'S STORY, PART II

The Great Desert is the place Gamma and his brothers Epsilon and Delta were sent to. While Robotnik would be attacking the United Federation's new home at the City of the Ancients for the first two emeralds, the trio of palette swap robots would be checking out the desert for another.

They came across the former western town, which was now abandoned and silent, a ghost town. The civilians who were evacuated had gone in hiding somewhere else while Robotnik's base was now where the ranch outside of town supposed to be. This old town wasn't used anymore.

Gamma and his brothers scouted around, putting their emeralds scanners on, ready to find the precious gem for their master. Though a bit of sand got in their circuits and the readings were a bit distorted, it had to be around this town.

Gamma was looking around just like his less intelligent brothers, until he stepped on something. He looked down and saw a book, a picture book for little kids. Gamma looked at it curiously and picked it up. He accidentally grabbed it by a pushable icon in the book, and when he pressed the Picky with it's thumb, an oink sound came from it and Gamma, startled, dropped the book and aimed his weapon at it. The book didn't make any more sounds so Gamma lowered his guns. He reached out for the book again and pressed the Picky icon again, hearing the oink sound again. Gamma turned the page and found the icon of a ranch dragon. He pressed it and heard a snorting moo-like sound.

Gamma didn't know why, but he kind of liked it. He opened a drawer in his chest, a compartment for storage, and put it in. He closed the drawer and moved forward. He then stumbled across a cactus, which was blooming and had spouted a single purple flower on top. "Pretty thing…" Gamma noted as he plucked the flower from the cactus. He opened his chest again, put the flower in between the pages of the book and put it back.

As Gamma continued to search for the Emerald, he found more little things that were left behind by the civilians once they fled. He found and old fashioned pocket watch, a small bell and a doll. All put in his storage compartment. Until he finally saw something sticking out in the sand, something shiny…he picked it up and saw it was a Chaos Emerald. His objective. His brothers were still mindlessly looking through town, not knowing he had it. He put it in his compartment and wanted to warn his brothers about his findings.

However, as Gamma walked outside, the silence was instantly broken when he heard several gunshots through the air. In the former ghost town, now two groups had confronted one another. One was a group of organics, and another was a group of Robians. They both were engaged in an old-fashioned wild west gunfight, trying to shoot each other down.

"I really wish I just could shoot them through their robotic empty skulls and be done with, but no matter how I hate those guys, I won't stoop to that level." Fleabyte groaned. With another shot from his trusted gun, he shot the gun of a Robian Tex out of its hand.

"They are the ones who killed my dad." Tiara said as she augmented the setting on her staff.

"Still, I want you to show you're better, you better don't put that staff anything higher then 'stun'." Fleabyte said.

Tiara reluctantly agreed as she fired a lightning bolt from her staff as it took down Robian Avery.

Gamma could clearly see how the organics were holding back. Gamma wondered why as he scanned the Robians. He found remnants of an odd signature. He had sensed a familiar signature on Robotnik's ship, but he hadn't questioned it. What was about these robots? They weren't like him, that's for sure.

Gamma then sensed something else. He turned around and fired, and knocked the hammer out of the hands of Rood. "Darn, hoped to get the drop on you. Oh well, then I got to take you on bare-handed. I shouldn't hold back since you aren't a Robian." Rood said as the aged but still very strong horse charged and tackled Gamma through a wall into the abandoned saloon. But Gamma didn't suffer much damage as he recovered quickly.

Rood charged again, but Gamma shot the ceiling, making rubble fall from above in Rood's path, forcing him to halt himself. "What's the matter? Can't shoot me straight in the face? You want me to keep as a specimen for robiticizing. Well, I'm not going to spend my life as a mindless puppet, I'd rather be shot." Rood said as he scraped his hoofs, like a bull and was ready to charge.

"Gamma has come and completed my objective. I have no reason to shoot you. It's not my concern to get involved in the fight outside, I just follow my programming." Gamma stated.

"Oh yeah, tell that to your buddies in orange and blue outside." Rood said as he charged once more. Gamma shot the floor in front of him, creating a hole in which Rood fell. Luckily his fall was broken by a bunch of old bags of sand in the cellar.

Gamma then went outside, rushed at the Robians' sides, where he saw Epsilon and Delta standing next to them, shooting at the gunslingers. "I have completed the objective, time to return to Robotnik." Gamma stated.

"But the Desert Chapter is under assault." Delta said.

"Our objective was the recovery of the emerald, then to bring it to the Master." Gamma reminded him. The two other E-Series remember the exact words of Robotnik, where they were merely asked for the emerald's recovery indeed.

"Affirmative." Epsilon stated as the three E-Series then left the battlefield and bring the emerald to Robotnik.

Later on, they arrived on the airship, where Robotnik was cursing to himself. "Darn hedgehog. Two Emeralds were not enough to make Chaos strong enough to destroy him. I need more…There are emeralds in Chun-Nan, I just hope that Benedict doesn't get his filthy hands on it…"

Gamma unscrewed a bolt to the side of his head, and then lets some sand that has gotten in pour out, before putting the bolt back in and draw Robotnik's attention. "Master, Gamma has recovered the Chaos Emerald as ordered." Gamma said as he pulled out the emerald and handed it over to Robotnik.

"Ah excellent Gamma. That will put me another step ahead of that fox who thinks his empire is better than mine." Robotnik however noted the stuff Gamma had collected from the open drawer in his stomach. "I see you brought some other stuff as well."

"I just found these objects curious and want to study them." Gamma explained.

"Your curiosity can either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you're curious about." Robotnik said as he took the book, flower, watch and doll from the drawer and let his roboticizing powers run through it, resulting in them all catching fire and turn to dust. "But let's direct that curiosity to something else, shall we?"

Gamma didn't understand why Robotnik would destroy such wonderful things…but Robotnik was his master, he shouldn't question it. He saw amongst the ashes the cactus flower, the only thing not destroyed by Robotnik, instead becoming a robotic version of itself. He picked up the robotic flower and thought: "The pretty thing is not pretty anymore…" he then noted a signature around the flower that seemed familiar. "Why is the conversion of organic material necessary?" Gamma asked Robotnik.

"Now that's curiosity directed to something good. You see, organics are flawed. Their various different mindsets lead to conflict and division. I unite them under a single mindset or ideal, working away these differences, and have them as one." Robotnik explained.

To Gamma it didn't seem to make much sense. How could flawed species make such beautiful stuff like the ones he had picked up? But Gamma wasn't supposed to question it, it were the words of his master.

"Now, you probably are worn after your little desert search, you and the others better go get a check-up." Robotnik said.

Gamma, Delta and Epsilon did as told as they head for the room where their check-up should be. As they got in, Gamma saw a Swatbot push a cart containing the remains of the other E-Series out of the room. The empty optics of Kappa lied on top, disturbing Gamma. He then saw two others, Zeta and Beta, both were largely disassembled and being modified heavily by worker drones. "Beta? Zeta?" he wondered. He didn't know why, but he felt uneasy with it. But he wasn't supposed to feel uneasy…was he?

TO BE CONTINUED


	90. Gamma's adventure III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY: GAMMA'S STORY, PART III

Sometimes when you look real closely, you find hidden secrets in even the most obvious of places. Hidden alcoves and caves might be a common trend for secrecy, but it still is a nice thing to have if you are the only one knowing about its location. Let's take a look at a particular alcove…In this rocky cavern, several trinkets were being held. These included a shelf with a few books and dvd's, several toys, and other random stuff.

Gamma arrived in his secret alcove. Gamma knew Robotnik wouldn't like him taking interest in such 'useless and stupid' stuff, but Gamma couldn't help himself. To him it seemed fascinating. Gamma has kept collecting stuff and had a secret cave to store it all. He shouldn't feel guilty about it right? As long as in the end he still finishes his missions like his master told him so, he delivered good work and as long as it didn't interfere with important matters there should be no harm in it.

Along the shelves several books were stacked. Gamma read them but they mostly served an alternate purpose. Gamma opened the drawer in his lower abdomen and pulled out a flower, which he placed inside a book, alongside several other flowers he had put in there. He then reached inside again and pulled out a pocket watch, different from the one he first had found in the desert but still quite the same, putting it on the shelf as well. He then pulled out a music box, winding it up and letting it play it's tune for a while before putting it amongst his collection.

But there was one particular shelf that stood out from the others. These didn't contain random objects, but contained robotic parts. Tiny robotic parts, which all came from his fallen brothers. Gamma had snagged tiny parts of his broken brothers the last time he went to maintenance, it's all he could grab since some major parts were used to reverse engineer Beta. Small parts like a nut from Kappa, a bolt from Phi, a chip from Theta and more.

But now he added one more part to the top shelf, a single optic…this one belonged to Epsilon, his less intelligent orange brother. Today his brother had fallen in battle…

FLASHBACK

There was a Chaos Emerald involved. Benedict managed to get two emeralds in the far east, while Robotnik got three by now, the third due to Gamma. Benedict wanted things to get even, but Robotnik just wouldn't let him. Several Fox Fighters were sent after the Emeralds, and Robotnik did the same for his Swatbots and the E-Series.

The Swatbots and Fox Fighters both fought brutally. One Fox Fighter started ripping the core out of a Swatbot before throwing the core in the face of the Swatbot. Another Swatbot held a Fox Fighter in a chokehold as it ripped it's head off. Fox Fighters swarmed onto a single Swatbot and ripped it apart with their bare robotic hands. Several Swatbots cornered a Fox Fighter and started shooting him, even continuing to do so after the Fox Fighter was deactivated. These drones were mindless but they had some basic emotional programming like ruthlessness and sadism, which both Robotnik and Benedict assumed would aid them in battle.

Gamma and Epsilon both fired away at the Fox Fighters that were advancing on them. Epsilon just started firing whenever one got too close…Gamma was a bit more creative. Gamma fired away at a building (which was abandoned) and let the rubble fall on and crush the Fox Fighters, or shooting a weapon out of the Fox Fighter's hand, catching it in his free hand and use it to double his fire power.

However, his brother Epsilon, who didn't have Gamma's instincts was swarmed by Fox Fighters, who started clawing at him and tried tearing apart his armor. Gamma fired at them with great accuracy, hitting them without hitting his brother. But Gamma soon had to abandon that when several Fox Fighters came for him and he shot back, leaving Epsilon to the Fox Fighters once more.

However, a single swatbot had a powerful grenade, tossing it at the group of Fox Fighters that had swarmed Epsilon, disposing of them but without concern for Epsilon, the latter was blown up as well. Gamma saw this and…he didn't know why, he just didn't like what has happened. Epsilon was an ally…a brother. Why destroy him? The Fox Fighters were foes, he understood that. But why Epsilon.

Gamma had soon found out the meaning of anger as he as a berserker started shooting around with deadly force, blowing up Fox Fighters and Swatbots alike. He didn't feel anything any respect for them anymore after they sacrificed Epsilon like a pawn. The Fox Fighters and Swatbots already had cut down each other's ranks down, so it was a small group Gamma had to dispose off.

He was the only one left standing, all the remaining robots nothing but rubble now. He saw the Emerald he was sent to retrieve among the rubble and put it in his drawer. He then also picked up the optic of Epsilon that remained after the explosion and left before Benedict would arrive to see the progress of his troops…

END FLASHBACK

The top shelf was largely empty, the optic he just placed there was the only thing on top aside from one other item. A piece of blue armor that said 'E-103', which belonged to Delta, who had fallen before, not long before the mission that meant Epsilon's end.

FLASHBACK

Delta and Gamma were among a group of Swatbots. They had gone after Ch'auzz, his third defeat at the hands of the heroes left him on a rampage. For Robotnik to regain Ch'auzz' allegiance, he needed to draw it's attention first. But Ch'auzz wasn't easy to deal with. He already had laid waste to most of the Swatbots around him. With his stretching liquid arms he reached out and punched them, with lightning attacks he fried them and the fact he had control over water didn't make it easy for the not so waterproof Swatbots.

Gamma and Delta fired away at it, but the shots went right through him. Ch'auzz replied with a blast of lightning, which they dodged by hiding behind a rock (actually Gamma hiding and dragging the less intelligent Delta along). Delta didn't react to Gamma's help and just wanted to go out and shoot some more, but Gamma wanted to hold him back. "No Delta, it's not safe!"

Delta was mostly mindless like most other E-Series and didn't heed to the warning and just wanted to continue with the mission he was given. He jumped from behind the rock and fired away at Ch'auzz who shrugged the attack off and then fired another lightning blast, obliterating Delta. Gamma saw his brother destroyed in front of him, the piece of armor that now was kept at his cave landed in front of him.

Gamma felt so…helpless. He couldn't do something to save his brother. Was it really so important that they got the odd being made of water that they'd risk being scrapped. If so, Gamma didn't want Delta's fate to be in vain. He walked up to Ch'auzz who raised his hands to smash him, but Gamma lowered his gun and said: 'Gamma surrenders!'

Ch'auzz seemed surprised by Gamma's behavior as he lowered his arms. "I'm only here to deliver a message. My associates were a bit…overboard but my master really only just wants to offer more Emeralds to you!" Gamma stated as he holographically projected the emerald he had collected earlier. This seemed to interest Ch'auzz as he relaxed. "Okay, Gamma asks you to come quietly." Gamma said as he guided Ch'auzz, or Chaos as some know him, to the Swat Carrier, where he would wait until he gets the next set of emeralds…

END FLASHBACK

Gamma knew his brothers weren't like him…not mentally at least. Gamma realized he was perhaps a bit smarter than the average E-Series, and he had more personality to him then being an obedient robot. Gamma felt sorry for his fallen brothers, because they couldn't see the world through his optics. Too late for that. Gamma took a final look at his cave, then leaves and covers the entrance up with a huge boulder and some plants, before he would go back to Robotnik, as his master probably would want the emerald and a report on his fallen brother.

Was this really the existence he wanted?

TO BE CONTINUED


	91. Gamma's adventure IV

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-ONE: GAMMA'S STORY, PART IV

Chaos was back in Robotnik's possession, who used the leverage of two emeralds against him. He wouldn't give them immediately to the water god, in case he decides to bail after he received the emeralds. No he would get them when he proved himself loyal and useful.

But also, Robotnik was busy with another project. With the technical knowledge provided by Lily he was constructing a new and improved version of the Sky Fortress he used way back as Eggman. The only problem was it was too complex to control manually so he needs a proper AI to control it for him. Robotnik himself was robotic, but he was not really a digital being but an energy being so he couldn't do it himself.

That's where the massive mods to Zeta came in. He was modified in a huge cylinder-like form connected to the power core of the Sky Fortress, he would be the AI that controlled it. "Zeta is perfectly integrated into the systems, sir!" Orbot assured Robotnik.

"Excellent…Now, let's start with the first tests. Have him do some simple tasks first…" Robotnik ordered.

"No prob, boss!" Cubot said as he and Orbot started activated some basic programming. Zeta's eyes lit up as several basic functions of the fortress activated. Some drones that were in charge of maintenance activated alongside some of the engines, as the drones started overseeing things went smoothly, as several security systems like the camera's also started zooming.

"So far so good…" Robotnik thought. But then something went wrong and Zeta started sparking as his eyes went red, and so did the maintenance drones' optics. "What's going on?" Robotnik asked.

"I don't know…there is a glitch, but I can't find out where it came from." Orbot said in panic.

Zeta let out a metallic cry as the maintenance drones advanced on them, Elise jumping in and holding her off with her combat skills, as Gamma aided her by blasting the drones. Zeta shot several missiles out of his body, which Elise and Gamma barely dodged.

"I don't think pulling out the plug will work this time!" Cubot added.

"Put him out in one way or another. I don't care how, stop him! He might destroy all I've worked for!" Robotnik ordered.

"Easier said than done!" Elise said as she jumped aside to dodge more missiles. Gamma did the same, dodging behind a pillar. Robotnik dodged himself as he was nearly hit by some missiles, and so did Orbot and Cubot.

"Destroy him!" Robotnik shouted.

Gamma and Elise jumped out from behind the pillars, dodging more missiles as the maintenance drones advanced on them. Elise used a karate chop to behead one, then knocked several to the ground with a roundhouse and then ripped the head of one before tossing it back at its owner.

Gamma shot an energy blast out of his gun hand, which not only pierced one drone, but kept on going and pierced several others, knocking them down. Zeta however was still active as he launched more missiles, but Gamma blasted them before they came close.

"Zeta, brother…come to your senses please!" Gamma begged as he tried to get closer to his sibling. But he could have just talked against the walls and it would have been the same result. Zeta's optics glowed as several lasers shot from it, Gamma barely dodged them.

"Oh come on, just hit the heap of junk!" Elise said as she grabbed Gamma's arm and forced him to shoot, hitting Zeta in the eyes, making him spark and let out a metallic cry, as if it was in pain.

"No!" Gamma said as he wanted to reach out to Zeta. Elise then jumped up, landed on Zeta's head, planted her fist in his head and pulled out some wires and electronics, making Zeta spark, his damaged optics flicker before he died down and the power went out.

"That was an obvious failure. I guess we'll have to start over again. Someone let some Swatbots clean up Zeta and the maintenance drones. They're no use for me now. And find out what went wrong! We might need better anti-virus programming." Robotnik said as he turned around furiously and left, Orbot, Cubot and Elise in tow.

Gamma looked at the lifeless body of Zeta as he saw how several Swatbots started disassembling him and carry away the maintenance drones. Gamma felt something inside him as he saw what has become of Zeta. He reluctantly turned around and left, his head hanging low.

He went out of the hangar, back onto the flagship of Robotnik, as it would soon take off again in the sky. As Gamma was alone, he let out a very angry cry as he punched the wall in fury. To Gamma these emotions were new, and hurtful. Why was he feeling them?

His brethren... First they were all used for target practice. The survivors were nothing more than cannon fodder. And now Zeta…he was forced to shoot him, his very own brother. Gamma couldn't wrap his mind around it. But something he didn't suppose to have, it ached. Gamma started thinking about how life under Robotnik was…

Robotnik couldn't see beauty, he couldn't see what the robotic minions went through…Gamma was created to serve him, he knew that. But what good is a life if it's pointed out for you?

"Gamma, I'm assigning you to guard duty, get to the brig this instance!" Robotnik growled over the intercom. Gamma hung his head down in defeat as he left to perform his assigned duty…

TO BE CONTINUED


	92. Gamma's adventure V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-TWO: GAMMA'S STORY, PART V

Gamma, still shaken by the fact he had to shoot his own brother, Zeta, did as told and reported to Robotnik for guard duty. He had just talked to the prisoner and took his leave, a Robian bird girl in tow. He entered the brig and saw the Mobian inside the cell.

The pink hedgehog girl looked sad as she was huddled in a corner, on the brink of tears. To Gamma, these drops of liquid coming from her eyes were a mystery. "Why are you leaking?" he asked the hedgehog girl, who looked surprised at his question.

"It's called crying. Mobians cry when they are sad, happy or have something in their eye." she explained.

"Which one of those reasons do you have for this 'crying'?" the robot asked.

"I'm sad…not you'd understand." The hedgehog girl said. Sad…is that the emotion he was feeling right now? Was he 'sad' because he lost his brothers like this? Why was the girl sad.

"Why are you feeling 'sad'?" he asked.

"Your master turned my friend in a robot. And he'll do the same for me. Of course you wouldn't understand, you are born a robot, you wouldn't know what it's like to lose your Mobianity." Amy explained. Gamma remembered when Robotnik roboticized one of the flowers he picked. It lost his beauty…and the Robians at the desert, were they like this girl at one point, before suffering the same fate as the flower? Actual mobians were more colorful then the Robians, why turn them into something dull and grey-scaled like robots.

"What is a friend?" the robot asked. It was a word he didn't know, yet it seemed important to the hedgehog girl, so it had to be something good, otherwise she wouldn't be 'sad' when it was taken away.

"Someone you care for, someone who looks after you. Someone to respect." Amy explained.

"Is Robotnik a friend?" the robot asked again. He didn't really ask the question to the girl, but more to himself, only out loud, but he didn't mean to say that. He knew the answer himself, but the hedgehog girl pointed it out for him.

"No. Robotnik does not consider anyone his friend. He all demands everyone to bow down to him, and those who don't get converted against their will. A friendship is amongst those who consider each other equals." she stated. She was right. He was no equal to Robotnik in the latter's eyes. Like his brothers, he would probably nothing more than a tool or cannon fodder.

"Robotnik…no friend? Does Gamma not have friends?" Gamma wondered, thinking out loud again.

"Gamma…that's your name?" the girl asked him. The robot didn't say anything, but nodded. "You're not like the other robots, are you?"

"I feel…different, yes." Gamma admitted. Yeah, he was a lot smarter than his brothers, and he experienced a number of things he didn't see in his brother. He knew he was different.

"I'm Amy! I can be your friend, if you want." The hedgehog girl said sympathetically to the robot.

"Why would you?" Gamma asked.

"I know you're different. Someone like you shouldn't be without friends. Besides, I feel it in my gut. My gut never lies." Amy said as she reached out her hand through the bars. Gamma looked at it confused. "You shake hands, it's a sign of friendship." Amy explained. Gamma was unfamiliar with it all, but the girl seemed to show something that he didn't see in Robotnik. She talked to him like he was someone she knew, not a servant.

Gamma moved his robot hand up and down, making Amy giggle. "No, you first take my hand and then you shake, silly." Amy said. Gamma curiously looked at Amy's hand and took it, before they started shaking. "Okay, you can now let go." Amy said as they were shaking for a while. Gamma let go as Amy giggled.

"What is that wonderful sound you make?" Gamma asked. He liked the sound of Amy's laughter.

"It's laughing. You do it when you're happy." Amy explained.

"Happy…Gamma feels happy to have a friend. But I can't laugh." Gamma stated. He didn't even know if he could laugh at all.

"You'll learn to laugh, eventually. But not from me, I'm afraid. I'll be roboticized soon enough. And then I'll not be the same again. Robotnik will change me." Amy said.

"But…I don't want you to change." Gamma stated. For the first time he saw someone he could connect to, someone who saw him for more as a mindless machine. They can't take that away from him.

"Then…please help me. It's what friends do! Help me stop Robotnik. He cannot change people like that. It's wrong…I know you know right from wrong, you are not a mindless machine." Amy begged.

Gamma thought for a moment. Gamma doubted himself. He was created to serve Robotnik...But if that what is his life was centered around, you can barely call it living. Gamma knew that if he was different anyway, he could go in against his programming. He deleted his loyalty to Robotnik in an instant as he shot the lock on Amy's cell door, opening it. "Gamma helps his friend!"

"Gamma…thank you!" Amy said smiling. "Now, will you help me save another friend of mine?" she asked.

"Gamma wants to help!" Gamma agreed. With that, he and Amy left the scene. Gamma felt better then he ever did before. He would no longer respond to Robotnik, he would choose what he would do. And he would choose to not have anyone else suffer the fate of the flower, and lose the beauty of a true life.

"Attention, Swatbots! Sonic and his friends have entered the ship and thereby demand you mobilize to the deck and slow them down. Prepare the prisoner for roboticizing while I prepare Chaos." Robotnik said over the intercom.

"Oh dear…" Amy noted. It was then that Mecha Lily appeared, having made her way to the prison cell, but meeting the two on the way here. Gamma then grabbed Amy with his arm and pointed the gun at her head. "Gamma, what the…"

"Trust Gamma…" he said softly as he turned to Mecha Lily. Gamma was glad he was smarter than the average robot. "I brought the organic unit to be roboticized." He said to Mecha Lily.

"Ah, very thoughtful of you Gamma. No wonder Robotnik speaks high of you. Bring her along. She'll join us…" Lily said as she led the way. Gamma and Amy followed.

They came across the Roboticizer chamber. "Now, put her on the platform, I'll do the lever work." Lily ordered. Amy looked uncomfortable.

"I'm interested in how this works…can you turn organics into robots, and vice-versa?" Gamma asked.

"Yep. You see, to switch settings, just push that button and pull that lever, and you can either make a Mobian to Robian or Robian to Mobian." Lily explained.

"Good to know!" Gamma said as he aimed his gun at Lily and shot her, as she fell down off-line. He then pushes a button and Amy was released from the pod. "I've stunned her. Now I can help your friend." Gamma noted.

"I was right about you…Thanks Gamma! But now help me put her in the chamber." Amy said happily. She and Gamma then put Lily on the platform. Gamma pushed a button and a lever, to change the settings. Then Gamma pushed a button…

A bright light engulfed the Robian Lily, as it crawled up from her head to her toes, changing robotic plating back to flesh and blood, and feathers. Lily groaned and opened her eyes as she wondered: "Er…where's Robotnik, did we win?" she wondered.

"Lily! You're back!" Amy said as she hugged the now once more organic bird girl.

"Amy…what am I doing here?" Lily asked.

"You were roboticized, but I managed to cure you with help from this robot." Amy stated.

"I was a robot? Oh gosh, I hope I didn't hurt anyone…wait, did one of Robotnik's robots help you?" Lily asked surprised.

"No…you helped in the capture of me, but it wasn't your fault. And yes, this robot helped me. But there's no time. Sonic is on board, and he might need our help now and…we can catch up later, we need to get out of this place." Amy explained.

"Er…but first I need a few new garbs, somehow my clothes didn't survive the roboticizing." Lily said a bit embarrassed.

"I thought of that…but I need my backpack. Gamma, you know where it is?" Amy replied. Gamma accessed his memory banks.

"I do. This way!" Gamma stated as he led Amy and Lily down a corridor. He then pulled Amy's belongings from a room containing the stuff of the prisoners that were roboticized. Inside, there were a spare outfit, a collapsible hoverboard and a set of darts for Lily.

"You think of everything, Princess of my heart." Lily complimented.

"Okay, now we meet up with Sonic and stop Robotnik. You're with us, Gamma?" Amy said.

"Gamma does what's right!" Gamma stated. He wanted to preserve the beauty of organics, and that made Robotnik his enemy now.

"Then let's go!" Amy said as they left to join the battle…

Gamma, Lily and Amy now ran through the corridors, after overhearing that Sonic and his friends are on the ship as well. They tried to get out, but found Zero and a Metallix that looked like Amy to block their paths. "Not these guys again!" Amy moaned.

Gamma aimed his guns at Zero and the Metallix, but they both fired at him, knocking him through a wall, onto the deck.

Gamma was dazed as he was knocked throught he wall, staggering outside onto the deck, where he came into view of Sonic, who had been busy trashing robots. "Oh wait, forgot one!" Sonic said as he rushed at it. Sonic homed in on it and knocked Gamma back, but Gamma was still standing as it fire his firearm and blasted Sonic back. "Oof, this one's tougher than the rest." Sonic groaned.

Sonic rushed back at it, but then all of a sudden, a familiar voice said: "STOP!" All of a sudden, no one but Amy stood in between Sonic and Gamma.

"Amy? What are you doing here? And why are defending this machine?" Sonic asked.

"Long story…but this robot is not bad, he helped me and Lily escape! He's not bad!" Amy said.

"Lily? But wasn't she…" Sally noted.

As if on cue, Lily, now deroboticized (don't worry, we'll see these events in Amy's story) catching up with our heroes, now wearing a brand new outfit consisting of yellow pants, a white t-shirt with blue sleeves and a new hat with the Freedom Fighter symbol. "Hey guys!"

"Lily? You're okay, you're no longer…robotic." Sally said.

"Just put me back in the roboticizer and hit the reverse button and I was okay again. And thank goodness too, I was forced to build Battle Bird tech to upgrade his machinery in that state." Lily explained.

"What about this…robot?" Sonic asked as he pointed at the red robot.

"Gamma? I don't know, I just talked to him and he all of a sudden gained free will. He's my friend now." Amy said.

"Friend…" the robot called Gamma muttered. He liked the sound of the word.

"Well, if he really helped you, then he's good in my book. Sorry I attacked you, big fella. Friends?" Sonic said as he reached out his hand.

Gamma stared at the hand confused. "Gamma, shaking hands, sign of friendship." Amy reminded him. Gamma had remembered him, but the blue hedgehog was quick to forgive him that baffled him.

Gamma grabbed Sonic's hand and shook hand. "You…are now Gamma's friend?" Gamma asked.

"Yep!" Sonic assured him. It was then that the ship shifted back to its normal position, so our heroes could go to higher grounds. "I think Knucklehead just made himself useful." Sonic added.

"Come on, I guess everyone wants a shot at Robotnik!" Sally said as she and the others moved on.

Then they came across Robotnik, joined by Orbot, Cubot and Elise. "No, who gave the order to reconfigure the ship back to its old state?" Robotnik said angrily.

"I dunno, Boss! Guess there's anotha joik on board who found the lever." Cubot said, still in his mobster Brooklyn accent.

"Someone called?" Knuckles said as he also arrived on the scene. "You didn't think I was going to miss the party, did I?"

"Not at all, there's enough butt in 'Buttnik' to be kicked!" Sonic said.

"Er…don't you think it'd be a good idea to call Chaos, sir?" Orbot asked.

"Right, good I thought of that. Chaos, come here!" Robotnik said as he pulled out two more Chaos Emeralds, the yellow and cyan ones. Chaos rose up once it sensed the emeralds, and Robotnik tossed them into the creature. It started to transform once more, now into a spider/frog-esque creature with a scorpion-like tail.

"Now I'll finally get rid of some of my least favorite people: the leaders of the Freedom Fighters, the guardian, that traitor Gamma, the princess of Mercia and the girl who wished she'd still be roboticized. Chaos, suppertime!" Robotnik said.

"When will he learn, you can throw him at us as many times as you like, but you can't defeat us. Come on, Freedom Fighters…and robot. Let's show them what we're made off!" Sonic said as the six heroes charged at Chaos 6.

Chaos starts by lashing with his tail, trying to swipe at our heroes, but they all were fast enough to dodge. Sonic tried to home in on the beast, but it's liquid skin has become so strong thanks to the new emeralds he bounces of him. "Okay, he couldn't do that last time!"

Amy fired her arrows, Lily her explosive darts and Gamma fired his gun, but it still only made it's skin ripple, but nothing much else. Knuckles tried to punch him but he bounced of it, and Sally's scythe couldn't cut through it either. Chaos then fired lightning, which the heroes again barely dodged. "Okay, this time he might actually prove a problem." Knuckles stated.

"Let's spice up things a bit more. Let's help Chaos out directly, shall we?" Robotnik said as he and Elise jumped down on the battle field as Orbot and Cubot mounted Robo-mobiles with various weaponry.

Orbot and Cubot, in their Robo-Mobiles charged at Gamma and started barraging him with laser blasts from the bottom, but Gamma was fast enough to dodge. Then Orbot fired an ice gun, which didn't hit Gamma, but froze the floor under him, making him slip, so Orbot could ram Gamma with his mobile. But Gamma grabbed on to the mobile as it had rammed him so he could shoot it at point blank, and Cubot was forced to eject.

Orbot spouted some gattling guns on his Mobile, but Gamma dodged the bullets as he straved and shot the weapons of the mobiles. Orbot quickly tried activating other weapons, but every time it spouted, Gamma shot the weapon before it could be used. Gamma was faster. A laser gun, an ice gun, a flamethrower, all shot apart by Gamma. With one final shot he shot the second Mobile out of the sky, Orbot ejecting.

As Amy and Lily help Knuckles hold off Chaos, things don't see to go well for them. Gamma saw how Chaos knocked them over with its tail, "Anyone got a suggestion on how to defeat this thing? I'd gladly take it now!" Knuckles moaned.

Sonic then noticed pieces of ice on the floor. "Where do those come from?" he asked.

"The Robo-Mobiles I fought with earlier had ice guns." Gamma explained.

"That's it!" Sally said as she moved towards the Robo-Mobile, which was laying down on its side and the cannon at the bottom was still quite intact. Sally dials some buttons on it and managed to reactivate the ice cannon and uses it to freeze Chaos. "Okay guys, now give it everything you got!" Sally warned.

"All right!" Sonic said as he spin-dashed into Chaos, breaking one part of its icy body and the blue emerald falling out.

Amy was next, fires and arrow that breaks another part and the purple emerald flies out.

Lily throws an explosive dart that blows up another part, the cyan emerald dropping out.

Knuckles punched one of the remaining part, and the grey emerald flung out.

Finally Sally destroyed the last piece of the icy Chaos and the yellow emerald came out as it shattered.

The heroes picked up the emeralds, as Sonic mocked: "You lose Buttnik!"

"No! Chaos was supposed to be invincible…but no matter, I still got my…" Robotnik moaned. Gamma felt a certain satisfaction for having gotten back at Robotnik this way.

"Ship!" Orbot said.

"Yeah, that's right." Robotnik stated.

"No, ship!" Orbot said as he pointed at another airship next to them, Benedict's in fact (the Vulpin), ready for a collision course.

"Oh crud!" Normally Robotnik piloted the flagship with his own computer-like mind, but he wouldn't be able to react in time since he was so close to the Vulpin now, and he hadn't seen it coming due to Benedict's own cloaking tech and the fact he had been distracted.

The two ships collided head-on, rocking both and making our heroes drop the emeralds, which went overboard due to the rocking of the ships. "I thought Benedict was a better pilot then that!" Sally said.

"I think our buddy Tails might have thrown off the flagship like we did for this one…Now it seems is a good time to leave. But how?" Sonic asked.

"I can glide, and the robot has a jetpack, Lily has that flying board…but I don't think the rest of you can fly or anything." Knuckles said.

"The damage to these Robo-mobiles was minimal, I can still fix them up real quickly…" Lily said as she pulled out a spanner and a screwdriver and quickly tinkered with them. "They aren't perfect, but at least we should get to solid ground now." Lily said.

"Okay everyone, now let's bail!" Sonic said as he and Sally boarded the first Robo-Mobile and Amy the second. The remaining heroes just flew or glided safely towards the ground as the airships behind them headed towards the ground.

Gamma had landed safely somewhere out in the jungle after the airship had crashed. He looked at the smoke the fiery remains of the ship produced in the distance. Gamma then made a vow to himself that day. One way or another, he would always be there to make sure his creator would do no more further damage to this world…

Gamma clicked his gun as he started to walk through the jungle. "Today…my new mission begins!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	93. Gamma's adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-THREE: GAMMA'S STORY, PART VI

Last time we saw Gamma, he had helped our heroes fight off Chaos and escape Robotnik's burning flagship. He wandered throughout the jungle, lost in thought, having broken free of programming that forced him to obey to Robotnik and set out to make his own goals.

Gamma studied the luscious plantlife and the colorful fauna around him that lived in the jungle. To him it all looked beautiful, it would be such a shame if Robotnik would destroy all of this. This was the main reason he would fight. To preserve the beauty of organic life in the world.

Gamma still felt something was off. Indeed, he barely managed to dodge it when something fired an energy blast at him, only his good reflexes have saved his life. He looked around before he saw his attacker: his brother Beta, though he was heavily modified. He no longer had legs, both his arms were huge cannons now and he floated in the air. "Beta…" Gamma muttered.

"Those who betray Robotnik only deserve one punishment: death!" Beta said.

"Beta, you're nothing more than a pawn for Robotnik. You can also turn away from him while you still can. Please…" Gamma begged.

"It's my mission in life to serve Robotnik, nothing else matters." Beta said, not having the same sense of free will Gamma had.

"I don't want to destroy another of my brothers…" Gamma said.

"Then you'll die!" Beta said as he aimed his arm cannons at him and fired, Gamma jumping up and activating his hoverpack to float before landing back safely.

"I wish it wouldn't have to come to this. But if I can't make you see the light, then I'll save you from a life of servitude to Robotnik…Gamma's sorry, Beta!" Gamma said as he in return fired at Beta, hitting him, but it only seemed to push him back.

"It's no use, your weapons are useless. I'm built with brute force in mind, my power and defenses are too much!" Beta said.

"May be…but I'm made to work as an assassin, to work from the shadows!" Gamma said as he slowly walked back in the shadows, disappearing from view.

"Don't run away from me!" Beta said as he fired in the direction Gamma disappeared into. But he hit nothing, except a bush, but no Gamma. He then felt something fire at the back of his head. He turned around and fired in that direction, but saw nothing once again. "Show yourself!" Beta shouted as he looked around to see Gamma but find nothing.

Beta had power, but Gamma had the smarts, he used his environment and skills to his advantage. He would fire away at Beta, who always would fire away at the place he was first, but by then he was always out of reach. He would fire at a different spot each time, trying to find a weak spot. Everyone had one. Gamma needed to find out which was Beta's.

"If I can't find you, then I'll have to make you come out!" Beta said as he shifted his guns to flamethrowers and started burning down a part of the forest.

"He'll burn everything to ashes if he doesn't find me. I can't let him destroy this forest…but I'm not built for extinguishing this fire. Wait! Counterfire…one fire cancels out the other." Gamma thought to himself. He came out of hiding and taunted Beta: "Is that the best you got?" Gamma asked.

Beta wouldn't let that pass and fired away at Gamma, who dodged aside, as Beta's fire stream followed him, the two fires crossed one another and cancel one another out. But now Gamma was left out in the open, and in these burnt parts he had no way of hiding. Then he just had to attack Beta directly.

Surprisingly, Gamma decided on the direct approach and charged at Beta. Beta was baffled, but didn't prevent him from switching his arms back to gun mode and blast away at Gamma. Gamma just charged through, weathering the storm, as the blasts flew past him. A few blasts hit him and did some damage, but he didn't care as he charged right forward, put his gun to one of the spots he shot earlier and blasted his gun at close range at full power.

The blast was strong enough to send the two brothers flying in opposite directions. Due to his armor being weakened by earlier shots, the point blank attack had blasted off pieces of Beta's shell, though it made Gamma sustain more damage from being close to the blast. But despite his damage, he took advantage of Beta being gazed and kept shooting at the damaged spots on Beta's body. Beta roared as if in pain, before rising up again, rushing at Gamma and knock him away with one of his huge arms.

Gamma was sent flying and the impact had left him barely standing. But so was Beta…two heavily damaged brothers looked at one another, staring intensely…until Beta gave in to his damage and fell down, and exploded. In terms of power he could have won, but it was Gamma's will and perseverance that made him come through.

Though Gamma was barely standing. He needed repairs and fast. He looked at the burning remains of his brother sadly, whispering: "Goodbye…brother." before he limped into the jungle, his vision blurred. In the distance he could make out some shapes. He recognized the heroes: Tails, Amy, Lily and Knuckles.

"Hey, it's Gamma! Hey Gamma…" Amy greeted happily. She then noticed his damage. "Gamma…he's hurt! We need to do something." She noted.

"Technically he's 'damaged' since he's a robot…" Knuckles noted.

"You know what I mean. Tails, you're good with machines, you can fix him?" Amy asked.

"Of course I can. Just give me a few minutes." Tails assured her.

"No worries Gamma, Tails is also a friend of mine, he'll fix you." Amy assured him.

"Friend of you…is friend of mine." Gamma said.

"I might as well fix that glitch in his speech pattern…" Tails said as he grabbed his Omni-Tool and started working on Gamma…

Gamma had felt a certain satisfaction standing up to Robotnik, but certain sadness for putting down another of his brothers. But what felt even better is that he had to experience wonderful things in life: the beauty of organic life, meeting friends, and looking ahead to a new future for him. Despite all, Gamma was happy. For now…

TO BE CONTINUED


	94. Final Adventure I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR: FINAL STORY, PART I

After their flagships were destroyed, and they were humiliated by our heroes, Robotnik and Benedict both crash landed in the jungle as well, with their minions in tow. Both of them were cursing the heroes.

"I hate that hedgehog! And his little friends! Can't they just let me be! All I want is to take over the world, nothing much. But will they let me do that, no!" Robotnik growled, getting himself a new robotic body after his last one blew up with the Vipernik.

"Er…boss, da woild ain't exactly a small thing to want…" Cubot stated. Robotnik slapped him as Cubot resumed his speech, this time in a new voice: "Arh! Shiver me timbers! It appears those scurvy Freedom Dogs gave us the slip once more."

"I don't even know what's causing all those voice changes. I mean, who would program cowboy, pirate and mobster accents in a robot's voice chip?" Orbot asked.

"Back when I was Eggman, that idiot Buzzbomber downloaded movies on my personal computer. When I recovered my old resources, some of those movies' info got into the programming I used to reactivate you guys…even when no longer around that robot bee manages to annoy me." Robotnik muttered.

"I still feel fine, captain! I'm itching to keelhaul a few unfortunate freedom fighters!" Cubot added.

"They don't pay me enough to put up with this…and I don't even get paid!" Elise muttered under her breath.

"Wait, I pick up something…" Robotnik said. "Yes, the final Chaos Emerald. It's near. Things may not be lost after all. I can still turn the tide! I can still have Ch'auzz." Robotnik said as he rushed towards the signature with more speed then his bulky body would suggest.

"X marks the spot! Let's get us some treasure!" Cubot said as he followed his master.

"Ten bucks he'll lose it to the Freedom Fighters." Elise said as she followed her master.

"But I thought you said you don't get paid…" Orbot stated as he followed as well.

Benedict at the same time also was cursing the heroes. "Stupid two-tailed brat and his gang of misfits…I'm just trying to make a living. Can't they just leave me alone? You know how hard I worked to build my army in secret?" Benedict moaned.

"Secret…(singing) I know something I won't tell, I won't tell, I won't tell! (speaking) cause if I tell, it's not a secret and that's no good!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said, being the random machine she is.

"No worries, my wonderful master! Next time those Freedom Fighters surely will fall before your greatness! Hail Benedict!" Shellcracker ranted. Benedict slightly became annoyed as he amped up the loyalty meter on Shellcracker a bit too much.

"At least someone is acting normal, isn't it, Dragonfly?" Benedict said to the only robot who acts like Benedict wants to at the moment.

"Yes, boss!" Dragonfly said in his usual monotone.

"I want to be an actress! I want to be loved by the people and everyone will know my name and face…they already do, but I don't have a face, I'm an eye! Eye-aye-aye-aye-aye! Time to recruit five teens with attitude…" V.I.O.L.E.T. continued to rant.

"I for once want that some good news would come up today!" Benedict growled.

"I see, I see what you don't see…and it's pretty, it's shiny, colorful and is full of chaos energy, you get three guesses. If you win you get waffle iron! I'd love one with icrecream and chocolate sauce, please!" V.I.O.L.E.T. said.

"A Chaos Emerald? Finally something good! Now, let's make sure we get it before those Freedom Fighters or that big oaf Robotnik gets it!" Benedict said as they went towards the direction of the Emerald.

Both Robotnik and Benedict arrived on the scene, seeing the last emerald lying there on the ground. The two villains notice one another, staring at each other and then at the emerald, then back! "MINE!" they say as they both rushed at the Emerald at the same time. But as they both wanted to grab the Emerald at the same time and bumped into one another, trying to wrestle one another for the Emerald.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" V.I.O.L.E.T. cheered.

"I'm not coming in between them." Elise said bored.

"Teach that scallywag, boss!" Cubot cheered.

"Er…go, master?" Orbot said, not knowing what to say.

"Our glorious master Benedict will get the emerald!" Shellcracker buzzed.

Dragonfly was silent, as he only spoke when spoken to.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" Both Benedict and Robotnik shouted to their henchman. The three henchman on both sides then jumped into the fray, and the result was a pile-up which ending in a cartoonish fight covered by dust clouds, as unknown to anyone, the emerald rolled away, as a blue puddle slithers towards it, takes the emerald and then slithers off, while the villains comically kept fighting.

Meanwhile, all the heroes had regrouped and had started to catch up… "So you are my little bro's parents and uncle? Nice to finally meet you!" Sonic said politely to the Prowers.

"Same here! I want to thank you and your friends for taking care of our son while we were away." Rosemary said.

"You're welcome Mr. and Ms. Prower…though it's a shame how little time you could spend with Tails while we…" Sally answered.

"It's nothing, we got all the time in the world to catch up now." Amadeus said.

"Now we got the Emeralds, we should really head back home, in Knothole. We really need to get you two a place to live, as I believe you want to live with your son!" Sonic suggested.

"I'm already sending a signal to have someone pick us up right now!" Nicole stated.

"Hey Nicole, why did you leave Knothole in the first place, and in an unfinished body like that?" Sally asked.

"I know you were worried, but I did it all so I could get a cure for Bunnie, and I have found it. This serum belonging to Benedict. It's the source of his regeneration powers so we might use it to heal Bunnie as well. I'm currently analyzing it." Nicole answered.

"That also reminds us that someone else ran off without giving it any thought…" Sonic said as he looked at Amy.

"I know it was rash okay? Of all people you should know what it is like! But everything worked out, I got Lily back, and we all got what we wanted." Amy said.

"Well…it did. But things would have been easier if you didn't rush off. But we'll let it slide. We're glad the ordeal is over, I can use some rest after another world tour." Sally stated.

"I think we all agree…" Tails said as he yawned and stretched.

"I suddenly think of something. We now have six emeralds…where do you think the seventh is?" Fiona wondered.

"I guess it still has to be found. But it can wait a bit, we already got six, we got an advantage right here!" Sonic said as he looked at one of the emeralds, which he held in his hand.

However, from the treetops six blue tentacles shot out, taking everyone by surprise as each one quickly grabbed an emerald and they retracted in the trees. "What the…" Sonic said.

Then in front of them, Chaos jumped out of the treetops. He was back in his basic form, but the emeralds surrounded him, spinning around him in the air. The emeralds and Chaos glowed brightly before he disappeared.

"You got to be kidding me, after all we did to get them!" Fiona moaned.

"Where did he disappear to you think?" Sally asked.

It was then that a very loud roar could be heard. In the distance, huge tendrils of water shot up and started to combine into one huge creature. It was reptilian, composed of water, with huge lizard-like green eyes , parts of his skin hardened and scaly while he had an exposed brain on his big head.

The huge beast was big and didn't see our heroes but it didn't care for them at the moment as he slithered away from the jungle. "That's the beast I saw in my visions…Chaos' ultimate form, Perfect Chaos!" Knuckles said.

"I wonder where he's heading to…" Lily stated.

"I got his signature…oh no! He's heading towards Knothole!" Tori said as she activated her scanners.

"The shields couldn't hold him in his basic form, Knothole will be in ruins!" Tails realized.

"We need to catch up to him…but the transport isn't here yet and only a few of us can keep up with Sonic." Sally stated.

"And without the Emeralds, I don't know if I can defeat something that big." Sonic said.

A ball of light then appeared in front of them and it spoke: "Allow me to help!" it said.

"What is that? A will-o-wisp?" Amy asked.

"I know that voice…Can it be?" Knuckles wondered. But he didn't get time to finish his sentence as the ball of light engulfed them all in a bright light and teleported them away.

The heroes suddenly found themselves back at Knothole. The ball of light still floated next to them, but this time it took on a different form, that of a transparent female echidna, one Knuckles knew. "Tikal?" Knuckles asked.

"You know this chick?" Sonic asked.

"Long story, but she's on our side!" Knuckles assured them.

"There is little time, sorry it took so long for me to reveal myself, but I needed the emerald shards to be found first. Ch'auzz is heading this way…his mind is fractured by the anger of one, and the madness of another. We have to stop him!" Tikal explained.

"How are we going to do that? He has the emeralds!" Sonic stated.

"I still have the Chaos Siphon! It's not strong enough to stop Chaos, but we can use it to force the Emeralds out of him, so we can fight against him!" Tails realized.

"Then there's no time to lose! Gather the others, we need all the help we can get!" Sally stated.

Knothole was slowly approached by the huge watery beast that was Perfect Chaos. The shields stood over the city, and it would have protected them from Robotnik's and Benedict's fleets, but not against a beast like this. As he got close, he had no trouble using his watery tendrils to rip the shields open and shatter it like glass, leaving the city at his mercy. Chaos started to roar as the sky turned dark and there was heavy rainfall, as nearby water bodies started to overflow.

The Freedom Fighters have now all gathered, Tails holding the Chaos Siphon, which looked modified. "Okay, all we need to do is toss this in his head, where the Emeralds are. It will detonate and blow the Emeralds are, then we can take it and use it to stop Chaos!" Tails explained.

"But how are we going to do that? We'll probably need a huge distraction to turn that thing's attention away from mindless destruction." Sonic stated.

However, as if on cue, two fleets of airships arrived on the scene, the Swat Fleet and the Fox Fleet. Both turned to Chaos.

"So, you think you can turn your back on Robotnik? No one betrays me and gets away with it! I'll make sure I'll have your power for my own, one way or another!" Robotnik said, operating from another ship now his flagship was destroyed.

"I gave you Emeralds and this is what I get in return! I'll show you ungrateful…you shall bow to me and obey my commands." Benedict roared at the same time, ignoring Robotnik's fleet and setting his sights on capturing Chaos.

"Now that's oddly convenient!" Fiona stated.

They saw how both battle fleets opened fire on the creature, but the blasts didn't seem to faze it. It however ticked Chaos of as he forgot about Knothole for the moment and turned his attention to the fleets. "Okay Sonic, now's your cue. Run as fast you can up that building and shoot the Chaos Siphon in his mouth before the detonator reaches zero!" Tails explained as he handed it to Sonic.

"If it involves fast, I'm your man." Sonic said as he grabbed the device, Tails pushing a button to activate the counter, and Sonic ran up a building at high speed. There were some stray shots from the Battle Fleets, but Sonic easily dodged them before shooting up, and toss the Chaos Siphon with all his might in Chaos' gaping mouth. "YES!" Sonic said happily as he ran down the surface of the building the same way he did, only down.

"Once the emeralds are out we can use them to defeat Chaos and the two fleets…ten more seconds!" Tails said as he looked on his watch, which was synched with the detonator. However, the watch suddenly stopped at '1'. "Oh no! There is a problem with the Siphon! That's what you get if you have to work on a short notice!" Tails moaned.

"What is it?" Rosemary asked.

"The main coupling has broken loose! There is nothing to conduct the power in the Siphon." Tails said as he pulled out his PDA and went over the statistics of his device.

"Can't you just send a signal or something, to reactivate it?" Amadeus asked.

"No, this has to be fixed by hand, but we have to go inside Chaos to do so…problem is, once the Siphon is repaired, being in close proximity as it blows will make sure that the one doing it is destroyed himself. One of us needs to sacrifice himself." Tails said.

"Isn't there another way?" Sally asked.

At that very same moment, Chaos lost his temper with Robotnik's and Benedict's fleets as he glowed and let out a huge burst of energy, completely destroying the two battle fleets in a matter of seconds…

"We don't have time to think of something. It's one life to save many…" Tails said sadly.

TO BE CONTINUED


	95. Final adventure II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE: FINAL STORY, PART II

Chaos was rampaging and threatening Knothole. He roared loudly as the city started to flood, and the Knothole Protection Unit (kind of like the GUN of Knothole) started evacuating people. They came onto the scenes with several choppers and tanks as well, firing at the huge hulking water beast, but they could have thrown pebbles at it with just as much affect. Chaos roared as he created a lot of watery tendrils and lashed at the vehicles, the pilots quickly abandoning their tanks and choppers as it was destroyed by Chaos.

Chaos roared and fired energy blasts at Knothole, damaging the buildings and making debris fall down. Sonic and Tails rushed at some civilians to pull them out of the way in time, as Amy and Lily did the same on their Extreme Gear, Knuckles punched some debris to dust that was about to fall on some other civilians.

"We can't keep this up forever, we have to detonate the Siphon!" Tails noted.

"But it means one of our lives needs to be sacrificed." Sonic stated.

"Maybe I can reach it with my magic!" Merlin suggested as he shot a spell at Chaos, but the spell was safely absorbed by Chaos' body. "Okay, maybe my magic doesn't work on beings made of chaos energy."

Another piece of rubble was about to fell down on a group of children that were trying to flee, as Gamma rushed in with his jet boosters, pulled the kids out of the way and put them down safely. "You are safe now, little organics." He said.

"Cool! We got saved by a robot!" one of the kids said.

"Thank you, Mr. robot!" another one said as they rushed towards their parents.

Gamma looked around to see the beast called Chaos. Gamma had been silent throughout most of the ruckus, but he has been thinking. The device set to stop him is inside the head of the beast, but due to a faulty contact it couldn't activate, and activating it means that someone had to sacrifice himself.

Gamma thought for a few minutes. Those Freedom Fighters were organics, once they were gone, you can't just simply repair them like with machines. Machines can be fixed or at least recycled for later models. He however, was not a real lifeform, he was a machine who got a consciousness somehow. He had enjoyed the taste of being sentient and able to decide for himself…and he had vowed to protect organics…so he wouldn't have to think twice.

Gamma saw Amy had put down her Extreme Gear to check upon some civilians. Since his boosters were made for hovering, he needed something else to make him truly fly. He grabbed the gear and took off. "Hey, my board! Gamma!" Amy said.

"I'm sorry, but a robot has to do what a robot has to do!" he said as he flew straight at Chaos.

"Gamma! It doesn't have to be this way!" Amy said, but Gamma already flew out of reach.

Gamma rushed straight at the beast. Chaos charged up an energy blast in his mouth and wanted to obliterate Gamma, but Gamma jumped of the board in time as his Extreme Gear was obliterated but he himself hovered along far enough to get on top of Chaos' head. Embedded in the skull of the beast, he saw the Chaos siphon. He saw the faulty contact and knew as soon it was activated, the last second would count down and instantly destroy him. But it was for the greater good. "Better go out with a bang!" Gamma noted as he puts his metallic finger in the contact, acting as a conductor…

BOOM!

In a burst of green energy, the head of Chaos exploded and seven colorful emeralds fell out of his head onto the ground. Chaos' head reformed, but he still had absorbed enough Emerald energy to sustain his current form. Sonic quickly rushed by and gathered the emeralds before Chaos would snatch them back.

"Gamma…" Amy said sadly.

"We knew he was different…but what he did…it truly showed he was Mobian inside." Lily said, feeling Amy's pain.

"Then better not let his sacrifice be in vain…we got the Emeralds, time to finally put that liquid creep down for good." Sonic stated as the emeralds glowed and surrounded him. In a flash, he transformed back into Super Sonic.

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Sally said.

"I will!" Sonic assured her.

"Wait!" Tikal's spirit said as he moved up to Super Sonic. "I know Chaos is causing a rampage, but you have to know, the spirit of my beloved is inside that thing, and he's still in there, behind that feral beast. So please…don't destroy him." Tikal begged.

"Well…Knucklehead thinks high of you, so I'm bound to believe you…okay, I'll just cut him down to size. I hope afterwards he can be healed." Sonic said.

"Thank you!" Tikal said.

"Now everybody stay back, it's going to get really messy!" Sonic said as he, in Super form, rushed towards the huge liquid being.

Chaos looked in surprise as a golden blur rushed by and knocked him in the jaw as it rushed by. Chaos shook his head to shake of the daze as he saw the source: the golden colored red-eyed super hedgehog. "Hey, you big drip! Your girlfriend's down there, can you at least behave in front of her?"

Chaos didn't answer but just blasted Sonic with eye beams, pushing him back, but not harming him. "Then I'll have to teach you some manners." Sonic performed a super-powers aerial spin dash right in the left eye of the creature, making it roar in pain. But it recovered as it regenerated. "Okay, this might take a while." Sonic rushed at Chaos, who opened his mouth and fired several energy blasts, but Sonic quickly dodged them all. He performed a flip in the air and launched a super-powered axe kick to the create, sending it stumbling back.

Chaos charged up a huge laser in his mouth, ready to fire… "If I dodge that, the city might go up in smoke…then I'd better charge right through it!" Sonic said as he rushed straight at Chaos. The energy beam was shot from his mouth, but Sonic pushed through it, though with a lot of effort and pushed it back into the creature's mouth, making it blow up in his face, destroying part of his head.

"Oh yeah!" Sonic said. However, the creature regenerated his head quickly. "You got to be kidding me!" Sonic said. Several tendrils shot up from Chaos and wrapped around Sonic, trying to crush him. Sonic then saw the tiny brain on top of Chaos' skull. "Oh, so that's his weak spot…thanks for leaving it right in the open!" Sonic said as he vibrated at super-speed, shattering the watery tendrils around him as he rushed at Chaos again.

Sonic began flying in circles around Chaos, engulfing him in a golden tornado, making his watery body spin around, making him dizzy. Sonic then shot up in the sky, and rushed straight down into Chaos, on top of his brain, and the impact exploded in a burst of golden light, as Chaos' body dissolved into water.

Sonic landed down, looking smug as ever, the Emeralds in his hands as he made a victory pose: "And that's why you don't mess with the blue blur!" he said.

The other Freedom fighters cheered for him as they rushed at him to congratulate him. "Sonic, you did it again, and it was awesome!" Lily said.

"Yeah, you showed him!" Tails said excited.

"I'm afraid it's not over yet!" Tikal's spirit said as she pointed at a blue puddle that was left in the crater Chaos' destruction left behind. "He is defeated, but his mental state is still fractured…for Chaos to be healed, we have to go in his mind to save him!" Tikal said.

"I'll go with you Tikal! We stopped Chaos long ago, and we'll finish the job now." Knuckles assured her.

Tikal nodded. "Thank you Nu'kells…now, can we borrow an emerald?" Sonic tossed the Red Chaos Emerald at Knuckles.

"Make sure to do…whatever you have to do. If there really is someone in need in the mind of that beast, do it right!" Sonic said.

"Don't worry, spiky! I always do!" Knuckles said as he and Tikal moved towards the puddle. Knuckles held out the emerald towards the puddle, as he and Tikal jumped in, and vanished inside it…

TO BE CONTINUED


	96. Final Adventure III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-SIX: FINAL STORY, PART III

As Knuckles and Tikal jumped into the puddle that was Chaos, it didn't feel like they were going through water, but instead felt like they were jumping down a hole. They saw another swirl of colors, they were on an ethereal plane, it looked like Angel Island, but in shades of black and white…Tikal now no longer looked transparent, but solid. "Good to see a bit more color on you." Knuckles stated.

"Since when do you crack jokes?" Tikal asked.

"Spiky must have rubbed off on me. Now, what are we looking for?" Knuckles asked.

"Them!" Tikal said as she pointed in the distance, where he saw two shapes moving. They moved closer as they realized it were two echidna's fight, both of them had blank eyes, as if possessed.

"Kaz! Father!" Tikal shouted at them. But the two didn't hear her, they were fighting each other, echidna to echidna. Kaz jumped up and delivered a flying kick to Pachacamac, who fell to the ground and rolled away but got up and charged at Kaz, ramming him with his shoulder into a pillar of the ethereal background.

"Why can't they hear us?" Knuckles asked.

"They can, but they've been fighting for control of their combined form for ages, so much they get consumed and forget everything, they only are currently living to fight." Tikal explained.

"Then let's snap them out of it. I'll deal with your 'beloved' father while you bring Kaz with both feet on the ground." Knuckles suggested.

"I will…I've waited for so long to see him again, and I intend on bringing him back!" Tikal said. Tikal rushed at Kaz, while Knuckles makes his way towards Pachacamac.

Knuckles jumped in Pachacamac's way as he punched him in the face, sending the former tribe chief stumbling back. Pachacamac recovered and head-butts Knuckles, pushing him back. "Ouch! Why is he as strong as me in this realm?" Knuckles wondered.

Tikal jumped in front of Kaz/Ch'auzz as she tried to talk to him: "Kaz, please stop!" he just shoves her aside as he continued, towards Pachacamac, but Tikal got up and grabbed him from behind. She was surprised that she was able to hold him back. "This realm is a battleground to determine control of the creature! So everyone is at an equal level of strength here." She realized.

"Strength isn't all! I didn't become a guardian with just that! I have a lot of skill and willpower to back up for that!" Knuckles said as he dodged another one of Pachacamac's punches, then grabbed his arm, twists it, stomps on his foot and elbows him in the stomach. Pachacamac retaliated by flipping Knuckles on the ground, kick him in the stomach several times. Knuckles caught Pachacamac's foot and tossed him into a pillar.

"Pachacamac! Are you proud of what you have done? Doom our entire race for your own selfish desires? You are not worthy of being called a Chief, you never were good enough to be called a Mobian! And now you ruin your daughter's happiness by turning the man she loves into a monster?" Knuckles ranted.

Pachacamac got up, jumped up and tried launching a jump kick, which Knuckles ducks under, before knocking Pachacamac out of the sky with an uppercut, knocking him to the ground. Knuckles approached Pachacamac, who sweep kicks him and drops him to the ground, and the two began to grapple like wrestlers.

Tikal still held Kaz from behind as she held him back. But Kaz shook her off before slapping her, sending her to the ground. He tries to plant his foot on her, but she rolls out of the way. "Stop it Kaz! This isn't you! My dad did horrible things. He doomed the echidna's, he hurts your children, the chao. He brought chaos and destruction. But he has dragged you into it, don't let it get to you."

Kaz didn't seem to hear her as he tried to punch her, but she dodged. He launches several other punches, but Tikal jumped out of the way. She found herself cornered against a wall, but then slides under Kaz's legs to dodge another punch. Before Kaz could recover, she grabbed him from behind again. "You were a god, who tossed away his life for me…and though you're full of anger, behind it still is the man I love! My love hasn't died after all this time, please say yours hasn't either…"

Kaz began to relax in Tikal's grip. He stopped struggling as he closed his eyes and shook his head, before he re-opened his eyes, and this time they showed some clearness. "Tika-Al? Is that you?" he asked.

"Yes, it's me my love! I'm here!" Tikal said, happy the man she loved was free.

"What have I done? I've attacked innocents and I caused mindless destruction…" Kaz said.

"It's not your fault. Our father and Luger's spawn have set up all these events leading to hatred and war. But now we can set things right." Tikal said.

"Then let's start by separating myself from Pachacamac." Kaz said as he looked at the fight between Knuckles and Pachacamac. "And Nu'Kells is already doing a good job!"

Knuckles was getting the upper hand against Pachacamac, launching several rapid punches, so fast Pachacamac didn't get any time to recover. "Time to lay things to rest, old man!" Knuckles said as one final punch knocked Pachacamac to the ground.

Kaz joined the fray and said: "I'll finish it now!" he jumped up, made a flip in the air and landed with his foot in Pachacamac's gut, creating a crater as he was slammed deeper into the ground, and creating cracks on the ground of the ethereal world, cracks which started to crawl up to the rest of the realm, the ruins and even the sky, before the entire realms shattered and everything was engulfed in a bright light.

The puddle that was Chaos before faded, and Knuckles, Tikal and Kaz were flung out of it, right in front of the heroes. Tikal was back transparent again, but Kaz was able to hold her as if she was solid. "I can't believe it, the nightmare is over after all this time…" Kaz said.

"Not yet…my people can be restored, but we need to recreate the Master Emerald for that…luckily Nu'Kells has all the pieces." Tikal stated.

"Can someone tell us what has just happened here?" Sonic asked confused.

"I wanted to tell you guys, but then Chaos came up again and…now we can fill you in. It's going to take a while…" Knuckles said.

Knuckles has just told all the Freedom Fighters of the past he had learned when collecting the Emerald shards, and how Chaos came to be, as well as the legend of Angel Island.

"Whoa…that's a lot!" Sonic noted.

"It appears Robotnik and Benedict were not the only war mongers…Pachacamac and the rebel Nocturnus are arguably as bad." Sally said disgusted.

"I think however that the whole god falling in love with mortal part was a cute love story." Fiona stated.

"And now you say you can bring the echidna's back? Your family and friends from long ago?" Tails asked.

"We sure can, with the emerald shards and my power I'll revive the echidna race." Kaz answered.

"Do you hear that?" Muttski, having sensitive ears, noted as he looked where it came from. Muttski then saw the source of the ruckus: "Look!" Muttski pointed at a figure approaching them… "Is this going to be Muttski's only point in this final story?" Muttski muttered.

It was Pachacamac. He looked insane as ever, though not as mindless as he was when in the ethereal realm. He looked weak however. "Stand back Tikal…" Knuckles said as he confronted Pachacamac again. "So you finally stepped out of that puddle as well! Haven't you done enough?" Knuckles growled.

"I've not done…nearly enough. Not until I have it all! The Edmund tribe, the vanquish of the Nocturnus, the rule of all the lands…must have it all…" Pachacamac said insanely.

"You have lost old man, you lost all: your title, your tribe, your family and allies, and apparently your sanity as well." Knuckles muttered.

"I need…I want…" Pachacamac said as he collapsed onto his knees, sparking with green energy as he glowed, his skeleton visible as in X-ray…then he shouted out to the heavens in pain before he turned into water, the liquid oozing to the ground before it turned into vapor.

"It's over. He stubbornly tried to hold on to life a little longer, but he had nothing left, and couldn't hold on much longer." Kaz said.

"At least I'm glad we can finally put an end to this chapter in our lives!" Tikal said.

But as fate wanted to be a dick a little bit more, the Freedom Fighters, Kaz and the echidna's were teleported away again.

They found themselves reappearing in a white round room of ancient design. They found themselves surrounded by a dozen very huge and high thrones. On top of these thrones, several giant Mobians, all based on extinct species from mammoths to dinosaurs.

"Where the heck are we?" Sonic asked.

"I think I know, but I'm not sure…it looks like something I've read about in mythology books." Tails said.

"I know what you think, kitsune. And it's true. We are in the palace of the Walkers, the godly pantheon of Mobius." Kaz explained.

Dozens of eyes were watching the group of heroes, which dwarfed in comparison to these giant-sized gods. One of them, a T-Rex Walker cleared his throat: "Ch'auzz, Walker of Water, you stand hereby trial before your fellow Walkers!" he spoke.

When would it ever end?

TO BE CONTINUED


	97. Final Adventure IV

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN: FINAL STORY, PART IV

The heroes couldn't believe it. They, the Freedom Fighters joined by Knuckles, Tails' family, Tikal and the one they call Ch'auzz (who was stuck as Chaos for the last thousand years), stood in front of the Walkers, the gods of Mobius. As awesome as that sounds, it was not a pleasant visit, as the Walkers seemed cross with them.

"Ch'auzz…you're facing the trial of the gods for having abandoned your godly duties, direct interference with matters of the mortals and damaging the Chaos force during your time as the beast." The T-Rex like Walker growled. He was the leader of the Walkers, Rai.

"If that's the case, you took your bloody time to put him on trial. Took it a thousand years to notice he was gone?" Knuckles snarled at Rai. The T-Rex Walker shot a lightningbolt form his hand, deliberately missing Knuckles but hitting the floor in front of him to startle him.

"It's not wise to anger a God, guardian." He said softly. Rai then turned to Ch'auzz once more. "You know better than any other that we are not allowed to leave this ethereal plane and we do not directly interfere. Your actions have destabilized the Chaos Force!"

"The Nocturnus and the Edmund tribe were already on the verge on wiping each other out. What did I have to do? Let the echidna's destroy each other? Prevent the legendary guardian line from surviving?" Ch'auzz stated.

"Don't give a damn about the guardian line, but I would have liked it if you just let them be." An Ankylosaur walker said. He was Taisen, the god of war, and took a sadistic delight in the war that has been going on.

"You know we wouldn't let the guardian line die out. The Trinity can't die out, as they're too important. However, sometimes war is needed for the evolution of Mobiankind, though we were hoping that the echidna's would learn out of their mistakes much faster…" a triceratops walker said. He was the god of wisdom, Chie.

"For the god of wisdom you're not acting very smart. You should have known this war wouldn't turn out in anyone's favor, no matter what you had in store. While they were slaughtering each other we were up here all the time, debating, nothing more than debating. I'm tired of words, I had to take action." Ch'auzz said.

"You know the rules, us Walkers can't directly interfere cause we're not allowed to mess with the free will of people, it's the only thing we're not capable off." Rai noted.

"I didn't influence their free wills. I just acted as a peacemaker, I managed to unite the two tribes without having any of them show my godly nature and it worked out…until the treachery of Pachacamac and Luger's spawn ruined it. Never thought they'd sold out their own tribes like that." Ch'auzz said.

"That's the problem, you showed too much caring for the mortals. They're not worth it. You just had to stay out of it. So what if they cut each other heads off? It's their own fault if they are so stubborn!" Taisen growled as he picked his teeth with one of his claws.

"You're one to talk, you're not stuck with cleaning the mess up afterwards. Those two dictators aren't already making it any easier for me!" a female sabertooth Tiger walker said. She was Shinu, goddess of death.

"I think this should not be seen as a weakness. Ch'auzz genuinely believed he was trying to do a good thing. Shouldn't that be taken into account?" a female pterodactyl walker said. She was Ai, the goddess of love.

"No matter what the intention was, good or bad, he still went against the rules of the Walkers." Rai stated.

"Aren't rules meant to be broken at times?" a panda Walker asked.

"This is none of your concern Feist, I don't have to remind you that you of all Walkers had your fair share of mishaps, though not as much as this one we're dealing with now." Rai stated.

"Yeah, I broke the rules, I left! I got involved…in more ways than one. And for the good I did I also did something back, when things didn't turn out as I wanted. But what good are we as gods as we distance ourselves from the people we swore to protect?" Ch'auzz stated.

"He has a point. Weren't we Mobians once too? Have we really forgotten what it was like to be them? Maybe Ch'auzz tried to learn us something…" Chie stated.

"Or maybe it has just made him soft. He couldn't keep his hands of a certain echidna girl. I'm surprised Shinu hasn't taken her off yet." Taisen said, looking at Tikal.

"I couldn't even do it if I tried. She was bound to Chaos. I couldn't take her without taking Ch'auzz. And during Ch'auzz monstrous state, I couldn't interfere." The death Walker said.

"I think that should not be something we should judge Ch'auzz for! Love can be a powerful and delightful thing. I should know. It shouldn't matter if she's mortal or not." Ai said. Taisen pointed with his finger down his throat, disgusted at her speech.

"She knew the risk that involvement with a Walker, and eventual binding would risk her become a Walker as well?" Rai asked Ch'auzz.

"I did. But Ch'auzz was willing to abandon his Walkerhood for me so I could live the life as we should." Tikal said.

"Yes, a noble deed, but as a Walker on trial, he no longer has the decision. Whatever happens to him, you'll have to be with him, whether that means going to the afterlife, or stay in the Pantheon." Rai stated.

"Er…excuse me?" Tails said, drawing attention from the Walkers.

"This is none of your concern pipsqueak! When the gods speak, mortals shut up!" Taisen said.

"No, let him speak, let's see what he has to say." Chie argued. The other Walkers agreed for now.

"What Ch'auzz did may seem bad, but it has done a lot of good. The echidna's are in suspended animation, but at least they're still alive. And during these last few weeks with Chaos on the loose, things were chaotic sure, but it allowed us to gain a lot. I got my family back, we managed to save one of our friends, find a cure for one of our friends, and during this time we managed to touch the hearts of some people, convincing them to stop hiding and go out there and fight. Things that may look bad now may actually turn out for the better." Tails noted.

"And while some damage has been done, no one was actually hurt. I think Ch'auzz was still fighting on the inside to minimalize the damage." Sonic added.

"What we mean to say is, can't he be forgiven? He did more good than harm, doesn't that count for something?" Knuckles finished.

"I say, the mortals have a very valid point…such wisdom for the fox's age." Chie said.

"Though there is truth in what the mortals say…several events that happened because of Chaos, good or bad, were not ought to happen. The Fates had predicted the future to a degree…the kitsune was not meant to reunite with his family, the cure for your friend was not meant to be found, the Nanashi clan was not supposed to be exposed to the world." Rai stated.

"What? What kind of future is that? How can anything good come from it?" Sonic said.

"Sometimes before something good happens, something bad has to happen. Like we stated, sometimes war and disaster are needed for Mobiankind to evolve. Though suffering is not a pleasant thing, it has made you in the warriors you are today. You need to gain this strength as in the future, your battles become harder." Rai added.

"So, we have to go through so much crap because you think that makes us strong? I don't want to believe it!" Tails said, losing his temper.

"Tails…these are gods we're talking too…almighty beings that can erase us with a single thought!" Merlin warned.

"I don't care! Who do they think they are, setting our futures in stone like that! Can't we make our own destiny?" Tails growled. "I just got back what I've lost and you say I have to give it up again?" he shed some tears as he took a look at his parents.

"You should be grateful for us pipsqueak. We allowed you to live! And become strong." Taisen growled.

"It does not matter! We worked so hard to achieve so much, and all that hard work, has to be undone, and the suffering has to start over? You know what really gave me strength? My friends and family! The longing to see them again, the bonds we shared, it allowed me to fight harder than ever, because I knew what was at stake! If you really want me to be strong, if you want me to be the warrior I'm destined to be, let them stay with me! They are my strength!" Tails said.

"We're each other's strength…we're friends and family, standing together. Everyone of these guys are dear to me, and taking one of them away will leave an empty spot that cannot be filled." Sonic said as he wrapped his one arm around Sally, and one around his little brother. "We're already strong, and we'll continue to grow stronger, all this bullcrap isn't needed."

"I've never seen so much love and devotion shine of a group of mortals just like these Freedom Fighters." Ai said delighted.

"It's not important what these mortals think! Ch'auzz blundered, and come to think of it, Merlin here interfered with the pipsqueak's search while he shouldn't. I'll say we punish them, put the mortals back where they belong and undo everything related to the Chaos incident." Taisen said uncaring.

"Maybe we don't need to…these mortals have something…I suggest we ask the Fates. They can see the future, they'll tell if these events are better left untouched." Rai said as he raised his staff and stomped the ground with it once.

In a flash, three more Walkers appeared, each of them wearing odd masks. "Fates, take past, present and future into account…are the actions of Ch'auzz and these young mortals for the better…or are they a risk?" Rai asked.

"The past, which I see, showed us great tragedy." The first walker, a pterodactyl with a tiki mask said.

"The present on the other side, did turn out quite all right." The second, a raptor with a similar mask added.

"The future is unclear, that may be…but these particular mortals can make their own destiny." The third, a theropod with a bird-like masked said.

"A risk, yes it may be…but with what may come to rise, we need unpredictability…"

"Sometimes we see clear but still…faith is bound this time, to their very will."

"Their fates can't be set in stone, the chains have to break…their choices have to be their own to make."

"What? You mean we just leave these mortals be? Just let them do what they want, like wildcards?" Taisen growled.

"Because it's beyond our control, doesn't mean we can't trust it. You're much too used to things going your way Taisen." Chie said.

"Indeed, we are not your puppets, you big bully!" Tails said to Taisen.

"I oughta smash you for your disrespect…" Taisen growled.

"Go ahead, destroy me! Like a kid throwing a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way." Tails mocked.

"He is right, Taisen. You are acting like a child. The fates said it clear, our interference in their lives is no longer needed. Now you'll stand down." Rai said. Taisen growled as he crossed his arms.

"So what is going to happen to me now?" Ch'auzz asked.

"Though you are cleared of your charges now, we still need to note you something. If you plan on restoring the echidna's, you can't do that without your Walker powers, which means you'll have to become a Walker once more. None of us can do it for you since it was an event related to your very actions. So if you bring the echidna's back, you'll have to become a Walker, and this time it's a point of no return, you can't go back to the mortal life you wanted with Tikal." Rai explained.

"So she'll have to become a Walker too?" Ch'auzz realized. He turned to Tikal. "Tikal…I can't do this to you. If I bring the echidna's back, you'll be an immortal goddess. You'll outlive your friends and family, and you can never join them in the afterlife. So I understand if you don't want to be at my side anymore."

"I want to stay with you…and though the thought of outliving my friends and family pains me…I life without you, eternal or not would feel empty for me. Besides…we two managed to unite the echidna tribes long ago…together, maybe we can together, as Walkers, do much good together. I think we already learned the Walkers a thing or two with our actions." Tikal noted.

"Are you sure? There's no way back…" Ch'auzz said.

Tikal turned to the walkers. "Rai, Shinu, can I as a Walker still be in contact with my friends and family, and if the time comes for them to pass on, is there a way for me to visit them in the afterlife?" Tikal asked.

"Normally it can't…but you will not be the average Walker. None of us had any ties left when we achieved our godhoods, we had no families or relations. You on the other hand…if there are no rules about it, then there are none to be broken." Rai stated.

"Only in special circumstances I can allow those who still live to see their dead relatives…But you are a special case, so for you it can apply." Shinu said.

"Thank you…in that case, I'm ready." Tikal said. With that said, two spell seals appear under Ch'auzz and Tikal, and they soon began to transform into giants, like the Walkers were. Tikal was now corporal and had a new, long dress, and several ornaments like a crown and a golden collar.

"From now on, you shall be known as Tikal, the goddess of Peace…" Rai stated.

"Way to go, sis!" Knuckles congratulated his sister figure.

"Thanks. If you restore the Master Emerald, me and Ch'auzz will bring the echidna's back." Tikal said.

"I must warn, now the Master Emerald, the point where the Chaos Force comes together, is clear or the Beast Chaos, the Chaos force is healed. It might considered to be a good thing, but it removes some of the limits on the Chaos Emeralds…you'll probably be able to tap into their power individually without harm, but the same can be said about your enemies if they get their hands on one! You still have to be careful!" Ch'auzz warned.

"So what will happen to us now?" Sally asked.

"You'll be teleported back home, and we'll let you live your lives according to your wish, as long as you're ready to claim your destinies afterwards…like we said, each of you have an important role to play in the future. You'll find out what it is eventually." Rai stated.

"So…Bunnie doesn't have to die?" Nicole asked.

"And my family can stay?" Tails asked.

"Yes indeed." Shinu said as she took out a hourglass. It was nearly empty, but Shinu poured some more sand into it, filling it up a bit. "I gave your friend more time, enough to put that cure you found to good use. I can only do it once, so don't waste the time I've given."

"And Merlin…you have pledged your life to us to ensure your family's safety…however, despite going in against our orders, which actually turned out for the better, we thereby relive you of your duties. You'll no longer have to answer to us, like the rest of them, you can take your own fate into your hands." Rai stated.

"Who-hoo!" Merlin said as he raised his hands in the air and cheered. He realized what he was doing as he recomposed himself as he said: "Sorry…so, er…looks like the family's complete again!" Merlin said. The Prowers then joined in a big group hug.

"Now… I believe they have some loose ends to tie up…let's not make them wait, shall we?" Ai said.

"Indeed. Hold on, I'll transport you back home." Rai said as he waved his hands and teleported our heroes out in a flash of green.

"I think we should have told them about the rise of the Dark One…" Chie stated.

"Too soon. We have picked up weakening in the barriers, but he still hasn't made his move. Until then there is nothing to be worried about. Besides, they probably have other things to worry about right now." Rai stated.

"Oh great, now you're going soft as well, Rai?" Taisen said as he stood up from his throne, only for Rai to give him a glare. "I'll be silent." Taisen sat before he sat down again, this time we hear a loud farting sound. Taisen reached from under his tail and pulled out a whoopee cushion. "FEIST!"

"I'm the trickster god, what do you expect? I can't help myself!" the panda Walker said snickering. The other Walkers have busted out in laughing, while Rai had a small smile on his face.

TO BE CONTINUED


	98. Final Adventure V

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-EIGHT: FINAL STORY, PART V

The heroes immediately were back at the place they were before the Gods had abducted them. "Hey, where did you guys go?" Muttski asked.

"Er…would you believe us if we said we met God?" Sonic asked.

"No time to explain…I have the cure for Bunnie, and I need to make a batch of it immediately. Rotor, you and Tails can get the shields up, right?" Nicole said.

"Sure we can…the generators weren't damaged, just the energy flow of the shields are interrupted, should be a quick fix." Rotor stated.

"Mom, dad, uncle…I'm needed for the shields, but I'll be back soon okay?" Tails said.

"Sure, go ahead." Rosemary said as Tails and Rotor went off to make a quick fix. "That son of ours is a brilliant kid." She said.

"Did you see what he said to those gods? He sure has guts." Amadeus said.

"Why don't you come over at my parents' place for a while, Mr. and Ms. Prower? My parents were also surrogate parents to Tails so they would like to meet you." Sonic suggested.

"Sure we will…I hope they have tea." Rosemary said.

They walked with Sonic and Sally to the Hedgehog's home. "I'm surprised that the water dried up so quickly after Chaos' defeat…but it was a magic-based form of water control so…" Merlin noted, but as he did he accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't watch where I was going." Merlin said as he tried to help gather the stuff the other had dropped.

"It's nothing…I didn't really pay attention to my surroundings either." It was Ellen, Nicole's mom. As she gathered the groceries she was getting, she and Merlin made eye contact…and for a moment both were silent and they kept staring.

"Er…I'm Marvin...I mean Marlon…dang it…I'm Merlin!" Merlin said flustered. Rosemary and Amadeus giggled.

"I'm…er…Ellen, yeah, Ellen." Ellen said, equally flustered.

"Oh, hi Ms. Lynx!" Sonic greeted.

"Oh, hi Sonic! Are these friends of yours? Have you seen my daughter?" Ellen greeted back.

"She's currently cooking up something to help Bunnie, it's an emergency, but she'll be back soon. We were about to have tea at my parents' place, would you like to join us?" Sonic suggested.

"Well, that sounds nice. Count me in." Ellen said cheerfully.

"She has a daughter…so she's not single." Merlin muttered softly so Ellen didn't hear him. But Sally, who was next to him, did hear him.

"Actually, she is single." Sally answered.

"Really? Sorry to ask, but what happened to her husband?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know, she hasn't told anybody. But she's available if you mean that." Sally replied.

"It's your lucky day, brother of mine!" Amadeus said amused.

"Come on, I just met her. I was merely curious." Merlin said blushing.

"There is something like love at first sight. The first time I locked eyes with Amadeus, I felt it too." Rosemary stated.

"At least it won't hurt to get acquainted with her, won't it?" Sally stated.

"I guess not…but don't get your hopes up brother…I'm not exactly young anymore and…" Merlin stated.

"Oh come on, love knows no age. That shouldn't be an excuse." Amadeus stated.

"Who would want an old man like me?" Merlin asked embarrassed.

"You never know…" Rosemary said smiling.

Nicole has gotten to the lab as soon as she could, and immediately she was gathering the elements she needs to create the serum. Antoine had joined her, wanting to know how the serum could save his beloved Bunnie. "So…ow does this cure work?" Antoine asked.

"I've analyzed the formula ever since I first got it…at first I thought it was a formula for a serum that allows regeneration…but I've studied it closer and it's actually something different. It doesn't regenerate, it alchemizes." Nicole explained.

"Alchemy?" Antoine asked.

"Transmutation, converting one element into another. In medieval times, people tried to alchemize materials into gold or other valuables. Largely it was a bunch of nonsense, but I noticed that it might be possible on a Chaos level." Nicole explained as she mixes some chemicals together.

"Vraiment?" Antoine asked.

"Yes, really. I mean, Naugus alchemizes chaos particles in the environment to allow him elemental control. And once Chaos got more Emeralds, he alchemizes chaos energy around him into a liquid form. Matter can't be created out of nowhere, it has to come from somewhere…alchemy, science and magic aren't really as far apart as one might think." Nicole said as she grabbed a few Emerald shards and dissolves them in the mixture.

"But how is zis going to help Bunnie? And why would Benedict have somethink like zis?" Antoine asked, still confused.

"I believe Benedict's regeneration powers are actually a form of alchemy where he converts matter around him into a new body. He is a homunculus. It would explain his supernatural strength and reflexes. But the formula shows that for alchemy with organic matter, the original DNA is needed. A part of him must still be Mobian, otherwise he wouldn't be able to pull himself together like that." Nicole answered.

"Why zis alchemy, why not have him really regenerate?" Antoine asked.

"Like I said, you can't create matter out of nowhere, he needs to get it from somewhere, that's why he choose the route of alchemy. How and when he did so, I don't know. But that's a question for later. Now, we only need to add some relatively undamaged DNA of Bunnie to the mixture, and we can use it to alchemize her cybernetics into organic parts…this way we can cure her without life threatening complex surgery." Nicole said.

"Is it safe?" Antoine asked.

"It's not completely safe, I don't know if Bunnie's body will reject the serum…but at least it's less dangerous than the surgery. She doesn't have much time left, even with the time Shinu gave me, it's our only chance." Nicole stated. She cooked the mixture for a bit on a fire and then took it off. "That should do it, now to see Bunnie." She states.

Outside the city, in the wreckage of the destroyed Fox and Swat fleet, two baddies were putting themselves back together. Robotnik's lackeys carried a new body to the damaged head that was left of the first, his true form of black energy hopping from the damaged head into the new body.

In the wreckage of Benedict's fleet, a single black cybernetic heart started pumping as a green smoke erupted from it, and soon white dust rose up from the ground, forming a ribcage around the heart, alongside the rest of a skeleton, before tendrils of flesh started to grow over the bones in a gruesome fashion, before fur started to grow. Now Benedict was fully regenerated, his minions brought a spare arm, which he places in the empty socket, before they handed him some new clothes as well.

Both of them had risen up again and saw the shields around the city were down. Sure, most of their fleet and minions were destroyed, but when would they ever get another chance like this? The two dictators stared at one another, then at the city and made a run for it…They tried to push each other out of the way as they tried to get inside first…only for the shields to pop back up at the very moment they wanted to enter…and running into the shields is like running into a brick wall, it hurts!

Both of them recomposed themselves and stared at each other angrily: "It's all your fault, oversized fur coat!" Robotnik growled.

"My fault? It's your fault, you Egghead!" Benedict roared back.

"Whatever…I'll be going. I need to make plans for world domination!" Robotnik said as he turned around.

"Fat chance, chubby! Not if I conquer it first." Benedict said as he turned around and left as well.

"Arh, are ya okay, Cap'n?" Cubot asked, still in pirate accent.

"I'll be fine. I just need to get to rebuild my fleet. That alone is going to take a while. Those Freedom Fighters already turned a few of my Empire's chapter upside down, and I have to get them back in line. I should have never used that oversized drip to do my work…oh great, now I sound like the hedgehog!" Robotnik said as he rubbed his temples.

"Are you okay, master?" Dragonfly asked Benedict.

"I'm fine, as long as my heart survives, I will too. But I need some rest…the constant interference of those Freedom Fighters didn't make it any easy for me, and the fact a few of my Legions were turned upside down doesn't help. I was hoping to do better than the big Egg, but I'm not! I can't stand it being on equal ground with that…I need to calm down, it's been a rough couple of weeks." Benedict groaned.

Nicole and Antoine were in Bunnie's hospital room. They had an IV bag filled with the cure, ready to be injected directly into Bunnie. "Okay, I managed to get a DNA sample of Bunnie that wasn't damaged by the cybernetics, and I'm lucky to find it, so it should minimize the risks." Nicole said as she was ready to inject it.

"I'm not sure if I want to see zis…" Antoine said, scared for how things might turn out.

Nicole let the cure flow from the IV bag, through the IV lines in Bunnie's bloodstream. For the first couple of minutes, nothing happened. "Is eet normal it takes so long?" Antoine asked.

"I don't know…it should work differently on her then on Benedict. Benedict is literally composed of this stuff." Nicole argued.

It was then that something happened to Bunnie's cybernetics. They appear to turn from solid to a liquid form, like a puddle of metal before it reshaped itself, turning into bone…over the bones, flesh started to grow…and eventually some fur.

However, while it was doing so, Bunnie was making some odd movements, like she was in pain, as the heart scanner went crazy. Antoine couldn't bear to watch as he wanted to rush at her. Nicole stopped him. "No, if we interfere it becomes more dangerous to her."

The re-formatting of her body was complete, as she looked nearly organic again, as the heart scanner gave off a flatline. "No! I won't lose you know! Not after what I had to go through to make it happen!" Nicole said as her hands sparked with electricity as she tried to reanimate Bunnie…she put her hands on Bunnie's chest, and gave a few light shocks in an attempt to get her heart pumping again. Three times she gave off these small shocks, before the heart finally started pumping again, in regular intervals.

Both Bunnie and Nicole let out a sigh of relief and happiness. Bunnie was not awake yet, but she was alive. "Will she be okay now?" Antoine asked.

"Yeah…she first needs to rest, it's a very straining progress. I'll need to do a few tests afterwards, but for now she seems okay…" Nicole said. Nicole looked up, as if to the sky and thought: "Thank you Shinu."

"And then he said: 'That's no dragon, that's my lunch!'" Merlin said to Ellen, both laughing at the joke.

"Nice to see your brother gets along with Ms. Lynx." Bernie said.

"My brother has felt lonely for the past couple of years…especially with us being turned into stone and all…" Amadeus stated.

"A lot has happened since we were gone…the world has gone to war, our child has grown up…I wonder if there is still a place for us in this new world." Rosemary wondered.

"I'm sure you'll find your place. Believe me, after being stuck as Badniks for so long we wondered what to do as well. But we have gone back to law enforcements like we did before." Jules explained.

"Well, you were destined to be the next Nanashi Clan head, so isn't politics up your ally, Ms. Prower? With the new republic about to be installed, we're still busy assembling a Council. Wouldn't you like to be part of it?" Sally suggested.

"Not sure…After what I've gone through, I'm not sure if politics really interest me anymore." Rosemary replied.

"I heard that that former bully known as Hamlin is trying out for the Council, he's not getting my vote! It'd be a nightmare if he got into it. At least Geoffrey has mellowed since those days, but Hamlin still gives us dirty looks." Sonic said.

"He's probably jealous. Hamlin always had such a temper." Sally argued.

"Well, I'm at least glad my brother and your mother are trying out." Jules said.

"Who knew my mom was so well-versed in politics?" Sally asked.

It was then that the doorbell rang. "Has to be Tails, I sent him a message we'd be here." Sonic said as he went to get the door. Indeed, it was Tails, joined by Fiona. "Come in, bro! The whole family's here!" Sonic said as he let his lil' bro in.

"So how are the shields holding up?" Sally asked.

"They're completely fine. Just a new Power Ring and it was okay. So…how are the parents getting along?" Tails asked.

"They get along just fine!" Sonic assured them.

"Good to know…you know, my family life was an odd one. First never knowing my real parents, then losing my foster parents at a young age, my brother and Sally looking after me…and when they all came back to me, I was confused. I didn't know what to think…but in the end, I realized, by having everyone back…that I just got a bigger family out of it." Tails said.

"You sure have a way with words Tails. First that Ankylo god, now this…" Fiona stated.

"Sometimes words of truth and love can be stronger than anything." Tails added.

"You should totally write a book, bro!" Sonic joked.

"We still have a few notes to compare…why don't you sit down and have some tea?" Rosemary suggested.

"I'd like that." Tails said as he and Fiona sat down. "I see you got acquainted with Ms. Lynx, uncle."

"I know what you think right now…" Merlin said, noticing the same smug grin Amadeus had given him earlier.

TO BE CONTINUED


	99. Final Adventure VI

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER NINETY-NINE: FINAL STORY, PART VI

Knuckles was making his way back to Angel Island, which was near the coast of Soumerca right now, so he could restore the Master Emerald. Near the coast, his friends, the Chaotix have been waiting for him to return. "Hey boss! You're back. We heard about a crisis going on in Knothole, what happened?" Vector greeted.

"Just a problem we had to take care of, and it's taken care of now…I got all the Emerald shards, and also I got all my memories of the past back…no time to explain, if we put the Emerald back together, we can bring the echidna race back to Angel Island." Knuckles said.

"There are other echidna's left but you and that Irish sounding copycat of yours?" Charmy asked.

"Yes, but you'll only see them when I put the Emerald back together, let's not waste any more time." Knuckles said.

"Okay, if you say so…" Espio said as the Chaotix made it back onto the island. The rest of the Chaotix were already waiting for them.

"Hey Knuckles, glad you're back. You got all the shards?" Mighty asked.

"Yes I have, and now I'm going to fix the Master Emerald. And when that happens…let's just say you'll see the best magic trick you'll ever see." Knuckles said as he headed to the Emerald chamber.

"What did happen to him while he was out there?" Mighty asked Vector.

"Let's just say he found out a lot about his family's history." Vector stated.

Knuckles entered the Emerald Chamber, and pulled out all the shards. One by one they started to float towards the shrine, and started putting themselves together as the Emerald started to reshape itself. When the Emerald finally was restored, Knuckles knew what he had to do. "The servers are the seven Chaos…chaos is power enriched by the hart…the controller exists to unify the chaos…Bring my people back!"

Tikal and Kaz, from the Walker Pantheon, managed to hear Knuckles' prayer. "It's time…let's do this Tikal!" Kaz suggested. Tikal nodded in approval as they held hands and let their power flow throughout the Chaos force, their memories allowing them to find the echidna's scattered throughout this near-infinite green source.

The Master Emerald glowed brightly and engulfed the entire Island. The Chaotix of course were startled by the flash, but sighed in relief when they found out the blast didn't affect them. But their eyes widened in surprise when several green particles flew into the air, clustering together before in tinier flashes of light, several echidna's started to appear, unconscious onto the ground. "Now, that's what I call a magic trick!" Ray noted.

Vector looked baffled at the sleeping echidna's in front of them. "Are they alive?" Vector asked curiously as he poked one of the echidna's…a pink female one. Who immediately jerked up, grabbed Vector's arm and twisted it behind his back painfully. "Ouch! I didn't try to do anything, I swear!" Vector moaned.

"Who are you? And what are you doing on the echidna grounds?" Julie-Su asked.

"Let him go, Julie! They're friends of mine!" a voice said as Julie-Su jerked her head in the direction of the sound, seeing Knuckles.

"Nu'Kells?" she asked.

"Yes, it's me!" Knuckles assured her. She let go of Vector, rushed at Knuckles, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him passionately on the mount. "I'm so glad we're together again, my beloved…how long have I been gone?"

"About a few thousand years…lost count myself." Knuckles answered.

"Ouch! My arm! Did you have to twist it that bad?" Vector growled.

"I'm sorry, but waking up after a long time and then seeing a total stranger might cause you to be a bit panicky…" Julie-Su explained.

Everywhere else on the island, several echidna's have started to wake up, studying themselves to make sure they were in one piece. "Argh, my head…where am I?" a jerk named Vichama said as he got up, sounding groggy, before something hit him in the back of the head and knocked him out again, a smug looking Remington rubbing his fist in satisfaction.

A group of echidna's, being the Luger twins Lien-Da and Kragok awoke from their sleep as well. "We're back…it has been a while. What do you suggest we do?" Lien-Da asked.

"We retreat, gather those who chose to remain loyal to us, make sure we find out what has happened to the world in our absence, and then plan our next move." Kragok suggested.

"Good plan!" Lien-Da said as she and Kragok snuck away into the shadows, unknown to the other echidna's that started to wake up again.

The echidna's that have woken up and were curious about what happened started to gather around the Emerald shrine, the only place that seemed to be intact after all this time and hoping they would get an explanation there. Meanwhile Knuckles managed to reunite with his family.

"Mom! Dad! To'od! Mace!" Knuckles said as he waved at his parents and little brothers, as they gathered around him.

"My son!" Locke said emotionally, hugging him.

"It's so good to see you again, Nu'Kells!" Lara-Le said crying.

"We were just at the weirdest place, it's like being stuck in a bowl of lime pudding!" To'od said excited.

"Na-na!" Mace gurgled happily.

"Good to see you laddie!" Athair said.

"There will be a lot of explaining to do about what happened while you were gone…but I don't know where to start." Knuckles said.

"Hey guys!" another voice said. Remington has also arrived, dragging his unconscious brother along by the collar of his uniform. He was joined by Shade and Martz "I don't know about you, but it felt like I have been sleeping for a thousand years…the ruins and the moss kind of gave it away." He greeted.

"Who are your new friends, Nu'Kells." Martz asked as he noticed the Chaotix.

"And what has happened to Kaz and Tikal?" Shade wondered.

"And I haven't seen the Luger twins and their followers either. Must have snuck off, those jerks." Remington said.

"Please anyone, calm down…now, if everyone wants to gather around and sit down, I'll tell you the whole story. What has happened while you all were in the Chaos Force, what has gone on in this world, and what kind of weird stuff I have gotten myself into up to this point. But first…let me introduce you to my friends, the Chaotix, they have helped me protect the Master Emerald and this island since you were gone. Meet Vector, Charmy, Espio, Mighty, Ray, Heavy and Bomb!" Knuckles said as he gestured towards his friends.

"Er…hi?" Vector said, as he and the Chaotix waved awkwardly.

"Did you say 'island'? Since when do we live on an island?" Locke asked.

"Er…that's going to be part of the explanation. Please listen carefully, I'd rather explain this all at once." Knuckles said as he would start his long and complicated story.

At the hospital, everyone has gathered around as Bunnie has woken up from her coma, being relatively healthy again. She was to stay a few more days for a few more check-ups, but otherwise she was fine. "We're all glad you're okay now Bunnie." Sonic said.

"Thanks sugah-hog. Ah can't believe that I missed all of what you've put yerselves through. And that you went through all the trouble for me, Nikki-gal!" Bunnie said.

"You have watched over me all this time, it's about time I returned the favor. I hope that you don't mind no longer having a laser cannon built into your arm and stuff…" Nicole said.

"We'll think of somethin'. I still have ma combat skills, just have to find a way to deal with my lack of strength and weapons now. But I'm happy to see ya all again…especially you, sugah-Twan." Bunnie replied.

"Oh Bunnie, you don't know how afraid I was…but now there's nothing to fear anymore." Antoine said as he held Bunnie's hand.

"Ah would wait to say that until the doc has made his final diagnosis." Bunnie stated.

"He should be nearly done soon." Sally stated.

Indeed, not much later, Dr. Quack came in with the final diagnosis. "Well, Ms. Rabbot…or is it Rab-boh again? Oh well, physically you're completely all right. That odd cure Nicole recovered, whatever it was, purged your body entirely of all cybernetics. You're as organic as the rest of us…not counting miss Nicole of course. However, I'm sorry to say that the cure didn't remove your NIDS…it merely suppressed it, but it can't do much more than that." Dr. Quack said.

"Wait…you mean that Bunnie eventually will…" Tails asked worried.

"She'll get weaker and weaker before one day she becomes bed-ridden. Then she might slip away. Those cybernetics managed to suppress it but as you see they eventually became harmful over time. To this day no one has found a cure for it." Dr. Quack said.

Bunnie looked shocked by the statement…she hung down her head, her grip on Antoine's hand tightening. "But…how come ze cure did work for her limbs but not on ze disease?" Antoine wondered.

"Because we can't alchemize living things. I could alchemize the cybernetics since they were inorganic, but I can't turn living tissue in another form of living tissue with this." Nicole said sadly.

"So it's hopeless?" Bunnie asked.

"No, after all I've went through I won't let it come to this…wait, if Bunnie would suffer from NIDS again…then why did Shinu gave me more time to help her?" Nicole stated.

"Maybe because she knew something. Maybe she didn't give you enough time for the cure, she gave us enough time up until the actual NIDS cure may be found!" Sally realized.

Nicole held a small vial of the cure she swiped from Benedict. "For now this stuff can suppress the NIDS. Long enough for me to improve upon the formula. If I do, this formula might actually become a true cure." Nicole stated.

"That's right! You hear Bunnie? We won't give up on you." Sonic stated.

"Ah don't know…maybe it's more trouble than I'm worth. You told me yerselves, at first ah wasn't supposed to survive if you were to believe dem Walkers." Bunnie said.

"But like we said, things changed. You are now supposed to be part of the new future. We are the Freedom Fighters, we don't give up on anyone!" Sally stated.

"But…ah nearly died twice, first when ah was turned into a cyborg, and now…maybe Death's toying with me, waiting for me to crack and then let him take me." Bunnie said worried.

"No…Shinu gave you more time, because she was impressed, you fought and conquered her twice. That's why she added the sands in your hourglass. She wants you to keep fighting. And that's what you have to do." Nicole said. She then puts a hand on Bunnie's shoulder. "Believe me, at first I believed that with my predicament, I really was better off dead. But in this new form I've been able to help out in ways I couldn't before…so why can't it work for you?" Nicole continued.

"You…yer right! I have to keep fightin'! But am I still able to be a Freedom Fighter with ma NIDS?" Bunnie asked.

"Maybe me and Tails here can fix up some armor for you, it gives you back the strength and weaponry you had before, plus it can protect your body. In combination with the NIDS-suppressor you should be able to get out in the field again. That is, if you want to take the risk." Rotor suggested.

"Ah've been fighting all ma live, and aint goin' to stop now!" Bunnie assured them.

"And I'll be there all the way, ma Cherie!" Antoine assured her.

Dulcy has been sitting there, in the corner of the room, mostly silent. Rotor approached her. "Dulcy…you've been quiet all this time. Is something bothering you? Is it the fact you met your original?"

"Yes and no…I managed to do some thinking. I'm no longer concerned with my status as a clone…not as much as I used to anyway. It's just…the other me. She said she didn't have anything left, while I am part of something bigger. It shouldn't be fair that I, the one who is a copy of her, should have had it. She could have had so much more. In a different life, I might have been in her place and she…" Dulcy said, but she stopped at that point.

"Life isn't always fair, and we know that neither Benedict or Robotnik are fair. It's their fault, no one else's. They ruin lives, and while we fight them each day, we can't be everywhere and they get away with smaller things, like squeezing all they can out of the lives they do control. But they don't control you, so you can do something about it. You can't change what has passed, but you can change what is about to come. That is if you're still determined to fight for that." Rotor assured her.

"I'm more determined than ever…believe me!" Dulcy answered.

"Oh! I almost forgot something!" Amy all of a sudden said, as she grabbed several cards out of her bag and handed them to her friends. "It might sound silly, but I want to have a funeral for Gamma. He saved me on that airship, he helped me save Lily and he gave his life for us…nothing much of him is left but you think we can still…" Amy asked.

"It's not silly at all. That robot was really brave. Of course we'll give him the funeral he deserves." Sonic assured her.

"We'll even help with the preparations if you want." Sally suggested.

"But you guys are already busy with the rebuilding of the city and your own upcoming wedding and all…" Amy said.

"Never too busy to help a friend, right?" Sally assured her.

Somewhere else, a group of echidna's have hidden themselves. These were the remaining Nocturnus that have remained loyal to Kragok and Lien-Da. "A lot has changed since we last were on the surface of Mobius…and because of the weak-hearted antics of our father and the meddling of those Edmund tribe rats we are low on tech and numbers. But we won't rest until we have fulfilled our destiny, and wiped out the Edmund Tribe, the traitors and all of their allies." Kragok said.

"But how are we going to do that? Like you said, we're low on numbers and tech." Lien-Da asked.

"We won't be needing much, as our good friend Zachary has managed to find the resting place of an old ally!" Kragok said. An albino echidna came up, showing some scrolls with ancient writing to Lien-Da.

"So…we're going after him?" Lien-Da said with a dark smile on her face.

"Indeed…how better then to end this war then with the very one that started it?" Kragok said smiling as well.

"As long as we're able to take our rightful place in the world order, I'm fine with it." Lien-Da said.

"We are the only ones left, but we are the true Nocturnus, we only shall survive and only we deserve the power!" Kragok said.

"It's a shame our sister decided to turn on us…" Lien-Da stated.

"She has been corrupted by those Edmund tribers and our father's weak-heartedness, she's too far gone. It's better that we end her suffering. We can't let her live in a prison of lies." Kragok stated.

"Then it's better if I do it myself…I don't want her to suffer too much. I'll be the one who will release her!" Lien-Da stated.

"And you will." Kragok said. Kragok once more turned to their followers as he shouted: "We are Nocturnus!"

"We are Nocturnus!" the rest repeated as they lifted their fists in the air and chanted those words over and over again…

TO BE CONTINUED


	100. Prelude to a storm

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED: PRELUDE TO A STORM

Except for the Great Desert, the Desert of Downunda had to be the biggest desert on Mobius. Searching from something here was like looking for a needle in a haystack, at least when you didn't know where to look. "Zachary, I hope for you that those scrolls of yours tell the truth." Lien-Da said annoyed.

"Of course they do, I stole them from the Edmund Tribe the day the High Priest was assassinated. These are the directions to his tomb for sure." The albino cyborg echidna assured her.

"You'd better, we're already with so few as it is, and that will be one less if you waste our time!" Kragok growled.

"As you'll soon see, I make no false promises, Grandmaster." Zachary stated.

"I thought I was the Grandmaster." Lien-Da noted.

"No, I am! I'm the oldest!" Kragok stated.

"Only by two minutes! We're both Luger's kids, I can be as much Grandmaster as you!" Lien-Da growled.

"What's wrong with being a Kommisar? You're doing just fine now!" Kragok bit back.

"Oh then why don't you be the Kommisar?" Lien-Da said.

"Er…excuse me?" one of the Legionnaires, a female echidna said, drawing attention of the two echidna leaders. They turned to her, as she said in a nervous tone: "Can't you be…both…Grandmaster?" she suggested.

The siblings looked at each other. "You know, that may not be a bad idea. At least we won't have to argue anymore, and we can split the responsibility." Lien-Da stated.

"I guess…well, we've always fought together, we shouldn't let that go to waste. So…this way there won't be a rift between us. Ok, we'll go by that idea!" Kragok agreed.

"You…what's your name?" Lien-Da asked the Legionnaire.

"M-me? Er…I'm Gae-Na!" she answered.

"You're our new Kommisar while me and my brother share the Grandmaster title." Lien-Da said.

"I…er…really? I…I can't accept. I'm not qualified." Gae-Na replied.

"Nonsense…" Lien-Da said as she walked up to Gae-Na and put a hand on her shoulder. "You showed some real brains…you made me and my brother come to an understanding. For someone to be our right-hand woman, we need someone who is smart, and you had the best idea. So you qualify. Besides…you can try out the position for a while, and then you still decide what to do!" Lien-Da said.

"Well…I guess I can at least try." Gae-Na concluded.

"Splendid, now we're organized, let's continue the search for that tomb of which you were bragging about finding, Zachary." Kragok suggested.

"Oh…you mean…" Zachary said as he all of a sudden punched the air, and unexpectedly the air shattered. No, it didn't really shatter, it was a forcefield of sorts that made what behind it invisible by appearing to be the sky. As this forcefield shattered away, the entrance of a tomb in the rock wall became visible. "This tomb?"

Meanwhile, a Felidae Legionnaire was being pursued…he ran as fast as he could with his cybernetics, yet he couldn't shake off the ones chasing him. They knew he had some important info on some of Benedict's affairs. He had to avoid capture, not only because he would be locked up, but Benedict had the bad habit of blowing everyone's brain out when they got captured just so to prevent they would talk. Working under Benedict was no fun to say the least, but he valued his life so he stayed clear of the ones chasing him.

He finally though he had given the slip of his pursuers and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Even with cybernetics, he still had limited endurance. He let out a sigh of relief as he no longer heard anything. He had escaped…or so he thought. "Found you!" a voice said as something green tackled him and wrapped around his head. "I got him, I got him!"

"Get him off! Get him off! He's a maniac!" the Legionnaire said as he ran around, unable to see with Bean's arms wrapped around his face, before he ran into a tree, Bean jumping off, the Legionnaire rubbing his head in pain.

"That was a nice workout, I think I burnt some fat of my legs, but I really need to claim my price right now!" Nic the weasel said as she cornered the Legionnaire and aimed her gun. Bark and Slicer stood behind her, both their arms crossed.

"You might as well blow my brains out with that, cause if you manage to make me talk, Benedict will do it anyway." The Legionnaire said.

"Not necessarily, my friend Bean here is good with explosives. Like really good. He can even control the detonation of bombs by his will…don't ask how he does that, I don't know." Nic assured him.

"You can't protect me from Benedict's wrath, he'll find me anyway!" the Legionnaire begged.

"You're offered protection by my clients at GUN. Now all we need from you is some info on the Foxbot factory you work." Nic said.

"Then we make the factory go boom, right?" Bean asked.

"Yes Bean, we can make the factory go boom!" Nic said, rolling her eyes. "But anyways, would you rather die a free Mobian or a slave of Benedict? Your choice."

"Well…a free Mobian sounds nice, but only if you can really assure me." The Legionnaire stated.

"Of course we can. If there is one thing I am, it's a bounty hunter with honor." Nic assured him.

"Well…" The legionnaire said doubtfully, but he couldn't finish his sentence as suddenly he got struck with a bullet from out of nowhere in his chest, instantly killing him.

"Huh?" Nic turned around, looking for who might have fired the bullet, turning around to see her brother, Nack, holding a gun that was fuming after he just had shot the Leginnaire. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my treacherous dopey brother." Nic said angrily as she aimed her own gun at the other weasel.

"Hello sis. I just wanted to see you again, after you left me behind on the Death Egg. I was then teleported through that blue spiky fella's mumbo jumbo to the top of an icy mountain! I didn't like it one bit. Now, I want to get back at you." Nack growled.

"There is only one of you, and four of us. Though Slicer will insist on a clean one to one fight. But you probably wouldn't be able to defeat any of us either. So I suggest you put that gun of yours down. I normally don't shoot to kill, but you have been a traitor and a rat, brother…" Nic replied.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I made some new friends." Nack said as he soon was joined by the Destructix: Predator Hawk, Simian, Lightning, Drago, Flying and Mello. "And they're eager to play!" Nack said evilly.

"Play!" Flying Frog said excited.

"You plan to defeat us by strength in numbers? There is no honor to that! Can't you face us on our own…or don't you have the strength?" Slicer asked.

"You don't seem to mind when Egg Pawns or Swatbots outnumber you." Nack noted.

"Just footsoldiers, don't make good opponents for a one to one battle. True strength is measured by fighting one of equal strength." Slicer replied.

"Well, I don't have time for crap! Get them!" Nack said as he and the Destructix charged forwards. Nack immediately went for his sister, firing his gun as he charged at her. Nic charged at Nack without firing her gun, as her brother's bullets missed her. She rolled under a few gunshots and kicked her brother in the stomach. Nack held his stomach in pain as he tried aiming his gun again, only for Nic to kick the gun away and then grab her brother in an armlock. "Ouch! Lightning, help me!"

Lightning Lynx just stood there, Nack's gun near his feet. "I'm sorry Nack. But two against one is dishonorable. I won't resort to that." Lightning said seriously.

"What? Don't tell me you are giving me that crap too?" Nack said, before Nic gave her brother a very painful noogie.

"Be glad that unlike you, I play fair, I will not use my gun against you while you are unarmed." Nic said before she tosses her brother into a tree, knocking him out. She turned to Lightning. "So…you're the most decent of the bunch, are you?" Nic asked him.

"I come from a country where honor is a valuable thing. Unfortunately, I have orders now, so forgive me that I have to fight you now." Lightning said as he took a battle pose.

"I understand…everyone has his or her mission. But I won't go easy on ya!" Nic said as she also took a battle stance.

Meanwhile Flying Frog and Bean were staring at each other with the same dull goofy look in their eyes.

"I'm Flying!"

"No, you're sitting."

"No, Flying Frog!"

"No, frogs don't fly, they swim!"

"I'm not swimming!"

"No, you're sitting!"

"I'm Flying!"

"No, you're sitting, frog!"

"I'm Flying Frog!"

"No, you're a sitting frog!"

"No, Flying is my name!"

"My name is Bean!"

"You're not a bean, you're a duck!"

"No, Bean the Dynamite."

"You're neither a bean or a dynamite, you're a duck!"

"No, Bean the Dynamite duck!"

"Is that a recipe for duck with spicy sauce?"

"Flying, will you stop making out with your new boyfriend and help up with this bugbot? He's tougher then he looks!" Predator Hawk said as he saw how Slicer had pinned Mello down under his foot to the ground. Predator rushed at him, but Slicer swiped. "Hah! Missed!" Predator boasted, only for the feathers on his head to drop off, leaving him bald.

"Whoa, Predator, you're really, really bald! Hey guys, Predator's really bald!" Flying Frog shouted all over the place.

Bean looked at the bald head of Predator, and one word came to mind; "Shiny!" Bean then charged at Predator.

"Oh no…not you!" Predator said when he realized who it was. He still recognized the kleptomanic hyperactive bomb-obsessed duck from when they were in the Battle Bird Armada. Bean grabbed onto his head as Predator ran around like a loony as he shouted: "Get him off! Get him off!"

Meanwhile Drago rushed at Slicer and punched him in the chest with his fist. Slicer didn't flinch as Drago also seemed unmoving. "You hurt your hand, didn't you?" Slicer asked. Drago nodded slowly as he removed his fist and held it in pain as he howled. Slicer then just punched him in the face and knocked him out.

However, Flying finally got in action as he jumped at Slicer and launched a jumping kick. Slicer flinched but recovered quickly to block another jumping kick as he tried to slash Flying, who hopped out of the way as Flying lashed with his tongue, but Slicer caught it in his hand.

Mello got up as he had a wicked grin on his face and pulled out his electro stingers, ready to fry Slicer. But Slicer pulled Frog's tongue, tossing him into Mello, and as a result the two got wrapped up in Flying's tongue, and as a result, shocked by Mello's stingers. "If you cheat, you get out-cheated by yourself!" Slicer said.

At the same time Simian and Bark were having a physical brawl. They rushed at each other and immediately grappled like a pair of professional wrestlers. They rolled over the floor, first Bark coming out on top bending Simian's arm painfully, before Simian broke free, and got on top, bending Bark's leg painfully. But Bark also broke free and held Simian in a headlock. "You know…I haven't seen a polar bear in a long time. Not since that time me and my troops were hired to protect that one village from the Eggman Empire at the time. We were outmatched, so we fled. No sense in continuing to fight for a group of defenseless polar bears if we can't do the job."

It was then that it hit Bark…his village was attacked by the Eggman Empire long ago…there received some help from some army troops to protect them, but they fled like cowards when they were overwhelmed. They were left to fend for themselves…Bark's parents were the only ones who kept fighting, only for it to cost their lives…so this gorilla was the reason his parents were dead. This unfortunately had distracted Bark so Simian could squirm himself loose and tackle Bark into a tree. Bark suddenly felt a lot of anger in him as he roared and began to violently deliver punch after punch on Simian, knocking his helmet off in the progress.

"Oh…so you were part of that polar bear group. I wish I could say I'm sorry, it's everyone for himself in times of war. Nothing personal. Though my superiors weren't happy for what I did, I got fired. But I don't need them. I at least survived." Simian said, dazed by the punches. Bark got even angrier as he tried to pummel Simian some more, but he became sloppy because of his anger and Simian was able to dodge his punches, before the ape saw an opening and punched Bark real hard in the face, sending the polar bear back staggering.

"I always say: 'Can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. They died, we lived. Nothing personal. But it's a shame that they didn't finish the job. It would have spared you some suffering. So allow me to end it…" Simian said as he pulled out a grenade.

The normally wacky Bean, who had clung to Predator and had made the hawk fly into a tree, noticed what position Bark was in. "Oh no…Barkie!" Bean said as he saw the grenade. Simian pulled out the pin and tossed it at Bark…but Bean has control over the detonation of bombs, so he deactivated the grenade, making it a dud and saving Bark.

"Stay out of this, green bean. I'm just finishing a job I started ages ago!" Simian growled at Bean. Bean was wacky, but he wasn't dumb. He realized that Simian was tied to Bark's past due to that statement.

"Bark…he did something bad to you in the past. Is it related to…" Bean asked. Bark nodded. "I understand. Listen Bark, whatever that guy did, remember what Slicer and Nic always say? 'Fight fair, fight for the right reasons.' So, whatever you do, don't give in to your anger. Whatever you do, don't stoop to his level. Your parents wouldn't have wanted that…" Bean said.

Bark got up and thought a bit…Never thought he'd hear something as wise as that from Bean of all Mobians. But even the simplest have something you can learn from them. Bark understood, as he nodded and recomposed himself, ready to brawl with Simian again. "So…you're still going on? I just have to hurt you more, you realize that?" Simian stated. Bark stayed silent. "All right then, you asked for it!"

Simian threw a punch, but Bark caught the fist in his hand. Simian tried again, but his other fist was caught in Bark's hand as well. Bark's newfound strength was able to keep Simian on the ropes, as no matter how hard Simian struggled, Bark wouldn't budge. "Where did you gain this newfound strength?" Simian asked. Bark didn't respond and just head butts Simian. Simian was sent staggering back. Bark then lifted Simian over his head and then tossed him against a tree.

Simian tried to get up, but his shoulder hurt much from the impact against the tree. Bark rushed at him, his fist raised. It appeared he was going to finish it, Simian closing his eyes, waiting for the impact, but felt nothing. He opened his eyes to see Bark had missed him on purpose, punching the tree instead. "What the…that's it? You don't have the guts to finish me?"

"Unlike you, my buddy here always fights fair." Bean said proudly. Bark gave Bean a gentle noogie. "You lost, the fight is over. Get out and leave us alone, you big meanie." Bean said as he and Bark turned around and left Simian behind.

"Nice guys finish last…" Simian said growling as he pulled out another grenade. He pulled out the pin and was ready to throw…But then a branch fell of the tree, which had cracked slightly because of Bark's punch earlier, and also has caused the branch to loosen. Simian was dazed by the branch falling on top of his head, before he regained his senses and realizes he still has the grenade. He squealed in panic as he tried to toss the grenade away…too late. The bomb blew up, and Simian's arm alongside it, leaving it a scorched bloody stomp, Simian roaring out in pain.

Meanwhile Nic and Lightning were fighting, going toe to toe. Lightning threw a punch, but Nic ducks under it and delivers a sweep kick, over which Lightning jumped. Nic launches a punch, which Lightning catches. Lightning launches a punch of his own, which Nic catches in return. They were locked like this and tried to pull each other to the ground, neither of them giving in. They broke apart and then both jumped up, both delivering a jump kick, colliding in the air. They performed a horizontal flip before each launching another kick, which collided again and pushed them back, both landing gracefully to their feet.

"The Crane in the storm kata…difficult technique to learn, harder to master. I'm impressed." Lightning complimented.

"If you travel the world, you pick up some stuff…Raijyu." Nic noted.

"You recognize the techniques of my clan…yes, I was a Raijyu." Lightning said.

"Was? Not anymore? I wonder why? You have great skill…" Nic wondered.

"My clan Bride was a power-obsessed maniac. I fought hard to earn her attention, but as soon as I realized it was only my power that mattered to her, not the person I was, I couldn't handle the fact I was actually unloved by the woman of my dreams…I never could please her." Lightning admitted.

"I know the feeling. My mother and father were pricks, I had to behave, have to act all proper and crap, while in return they never gave me the love parents were supposed to give to a daughter. It's just a shame that we are similar, but that you got with the wrong crowd…" Nic said.

"What other choice did I have? I had nowhere else to go!" Lightning said sadly.

"You always have a choice. Listen…what's your name?" Nic asked.

"Lightning…"

"Lightning…Though I was free of my parents, the world was a big place, and trying to find your spot in it is hard, but if you look hard, you'll find it. You just didn't look hard enough. I can help you look." Nic offered.

"You'd do that for me?" Lightning asked.

"I can't let a kindred soul down…or my name isn't Nicolette Millicent Weasel." Nic said as she wanted to reach out her hand to Lightning. Lightning looked at his own hand for a while and wondered if he should accept Nic's offer.

Nack started to reawaken after being knocked out by his sister. He saw her talking to Lightning. Nack had a wicked smile on his face as he crawled towards his gun and aimed at her. But Lightning saw it… "Raijyu strike!" When Nack fired the bullet, Lightning jumped in front of Nic and summoned a burst of lightning in front of him which made the bullet bounce of it.

"What are you doing? You're on my side!" Nack growled.

"No…I'm tired of this. This isn't me…I'm not like you. I have lost all, but my honor. I should have known from the start my place isn't amongst a bunch of honor-less thugs like you." Lightning said.

"Fine. Never liked you, you were always a goody two-shoes. I hate that type of guy. Now, I can take you both out…" Nack said as he aimed his gun again, as a voice sounded in his head.

"No…you had your chance, you failed. You and the others retreat." It said.

"But I have them!" Nack sent back mentally.

"I said I would give you the chance to kill your sister, but I didn't say you had to succeed. You failed, but you were given the chance. Contract is completed, you belong to me now! And you'll do as you say or I vaporize you. Take the others with you, I send one of the clones to cover your escape." The voice said.

Nack growled, but he couldn't go in against his master, that would be a death warrant. "You're lucky I got to be somewhere, next time I'll put lead in your head, sister…" Nack said as he ran off.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere." Nic said as she ran after Nack, only for a blue blur to rush by and tackle her to the ground. "What the…" Nic looked up to see someone who looked like… "Sonic?"

It looked like him, only he had different shoes, red sunglasses, a black jacket with flame patterns and two scars on his chest. "For you, I could be, toots!" the other Sonic said. Normally Sonic was suave, but no trace of it was in this guy's voice.

"He's not Sonic…I see it in his eyes." Slicer noted.

"Oh, you got me. Yeah, I'm not Sonic, but I can do all he can do, but better!" the fake Sonic said with a toothy grin.

"I wish to test that…that is if you think you're an opponent worthy of me." Slicer said as he prepared his blades.

"No sweat, bugbot! Here I come!" the Anti-Sonic said as he rushed at Slicer at full speed. He built up speed and then performed a spin jump, but Slicer saw it coming as he ducked under it, uppercuts the fake Sonic with his blades, and before he hits the ground, Slicer kicks him, sending him into a tree.

The fake Sonic groaned, dazed. He tried to get up, but Slicer steps on his back with his foot and pins him to the ground. "Pathetic! Sloppy! The real Sonic would have been able to put up a satisfying battle, he would be unpredictable. I could read your attacks too easily. You steal his appearance, yet you fail to live up to him." Slicer said.

"Why you living piece of scrap! I'll show you…" anti-Sonic said as he tried to get up, but Slicer had him pinned and he couldn't get up. "Just a sec…" the faker said as he struggled, but couldn't. Slicer then picked him up by his neck and tosses him back in the direction of the hooded figure.

"You see? No skill, no smarts, no wits…the real Sonic would have vibrated his molecules to get loose." Slicer mocked.

"Oh, thanks for the hint!" Scourge said as he vibrated his molecules to escape. As he became solid again, Slicer prepares his blades and prepared to slash. Scourge vibrated his molecules again and the blades went through him. "Hah. Missed!" Slicer kept slashing, but Scourge spammed the vibration to stay clear. "Hah, I can keep this up all…" Scourge said before he became solid again and started to look tired. "…day."

"The real Sonic also would know not to waste all his power on one trick!" Slicer said as he delivered a powerful roundhouse on Scourge, kicking him back.

"Okay, you got me! But it's time for me to go anyway. I did as I was told, I covered for my buddies…" Scourge said. Bean and Bark had watched the fight with the fake Sonic occur too, but it was a distraction, as the Destructix had used the confusion to get away. Minus Lightning. "That reminds me!" Scourge rushed, using his last power on a burst of speed to rush at Lightning, knock him out with a punch, and then carry him over his shoulder with him. "I guess the boss wants to punish him for his insolence." Scourge pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it to cover his own escape.

After Nic, Bark and Bean coughed a bit, the smoke cleared. "That fake son of a…he got off with Lightning." Nic growled. Bean stared at her with a smug grin on his face. "I know what you're thinking…he's just someone I feel sympathy for, and I offered a chance at redemption…"

"Nic and Lightning are sitting in a tree, K-I-S-…" then Bark bopped Bean on the head to shut him up.

"I think we should warn the Freedom Fighters about it…an evil double of Sonic running around is definitely bad news." Slicer suggested.

"You're right…though I need to change my outfit first, I'm sweating to death in this bodysuit." Nic said as she reached into her backpack. "Hey, where is my spare outfit?"

"I FEEL SO PRETTY RIGHT NOW!" Flying Frog screamed enthusiastically when he showed off the outfit he had snagged from Nic to his fellow Destructix with a wide grin and crossed eyes.

"Ah, my eyes!" Drago said as he covered his eyes.

"Stop your whining…geez, I can't believe I got kicked around by a lame Eggman robot. I got the speed, the power…" the fake Sonic growled.

"…but you lack proper training." A voice said from behind him. The fake Sonic turned around to face his master. It was a Mobian mammoth in a white business suit, wielding a cane. "I gave you an organic body so you would be able to hold Chaos energies better, but you don't treat the body like the temple it is. You hardly have trained since you entered my service. Your counterpart is a free spirit, but he sees the importance of training."

"I am trained, the bug just cheated!" the fake Sonic said immaturely.

"That same robot who talks about honor and clean fights, hardly!" the fake Tails has joined up and assisted his master in berating the fake Sonic.

"You are one to talk you fake…anti…Tails guy!" the fake Sonic growled.

"Call me Miles. I'm no mere anti, and I don't want to be addressed by the childish nickname my counterpart has." Miles said.

"I need a cool new name too. Oh, I know, Scourge! Cause that's what I man! And the fake echidna here will be O'Nux, since he's Irish and stuff!" Scourge said.

"O'Nux? No thanks, no way I would accept such a stupid name!" O'Nux huffed.

"Too late, O'Nux. Now, where were we, boss? Oh yeah. I'm telling you I'm strong enough as it is!" Scourge continued.

"You're pretty confident…all right, you can join in the next battle, but I warn you; if you are to be in a pinch, you're on your own. Don't expect any of the Destructix to come to your aid. It'll be a lesson in humility." The mammoth scoffed.

"I would have been happy if you just let me finish the job I started." Nack scoffed.

"I said I'd give you a chance, in exchange for your service. You wasted it, you lost the battle. Now you and the rest will need to focus on the task at hand. For me to rise to power once more, I need a Chaos Emerald, or the Master Emerald. Until you proved your competence by aiding in retrieving either of those, then you can do what you want, but not earlier!" his master replied.

"When will I get my chance to get what I want?" Mello asked bored.

"Patience…your case is different, more complex, not mere revenge. If you want the bee girl, I suggest you behave for now." the mammoth said to the young bee.

"What are we going to do with Simian and Lightning? And my haircut?" Predator asked. The mammoth sighed as with a spell he restored the feathers on Predator's head. He then turned to Simian, touching the scorched bloody stomp of an arm, covering it in crystal until a full replica of his arm, in crystal, appeared. Simian could flex and move it like a real arm.

"Thank you master! I promise, next time I won't let you down!" Simian said, bowing to the mammoth in respect.

"I don't know if that is much coming from you…but I'll keep you for now." the mammoth then turned to Lightning. "So…you decided to defy me?" he asked the former Raijyu.

"I'm a man born in a land of honor…I never belonged in this group to begin with. I just wanted a place to belong." Lightning said.

"Belong…I know more about it then you'd realize. You see, because I'm ageless, I was around since Mobius was young…as times began to change, I kept existing, always a relic from the past, never belonging anywhere…" the mammoth said.

As he narrated, we flash back to the past of the mammoth. "As Mobians were still primitive, I witnessed a strange phenomena…meteors rained from the sky and landed on the face of Mobius." We see an image of a Mobian caveman in the ice age, the very same mammoth that now was narrating the story. They saw green meteors raining down from the sky. "Curious as I was, I investigated one of them." The Mammoth moved closer to one of the huge meteors, who was as big as he. It was warm, so for a mammoth in the ice age it was a welcome source of heat. He curled up next to it and slept.

"Once I was exposed to the immense radiation of the meteor, I found myself waking up, feeling stronger than ever…and over the years I noticed that I never grew older, and that I could heal from any injury…" the mammoth is seen fighting a wild basilisk, the raptor-like creature slashing at his arm, the scratches healing instantly, before the smiling mammoth hit the Basilisk with his club.

"However, it also became a curse as I saw my people dying out, and new species of Mobians rising up to take their place." The mammoth saw how Mobian species he didn't see before started to make primitive villages.

"However, there was a group of Mobians who had shared the same fate as me, who had been exposed directly to the meteors, and had lived on. When I found them and we joined up, we decided to study these meteors and the strange power they held…" Mammoth joined up with a group of dinosaurs, which looked exactly like the godly pantheon.

"We forged them into cleaner, smoother forms…we discovered how these meteors contained a substance that could tap in the very essence of life itself, into the so called Chaos force…" the meteors were crafted into several emeralds…the Chaos emeralds. They also forged the meteor the mammoth was exposed to into a bigger emerald, the Master Emerald.

"We spent ages on studying the power that the Chaos force held…we came to a point we became one with it, we arose to godhood!" the mammoth and the others started to glow as the chaos energy engulfed their bodies…

"We knew that we no longer mere mortals, and that due to our new status, we had to put our new powers to use…we would over the years watch over the population of Mobius, trying to make things better. Though my methods didn't suit my comrades well." Mammoth Mogul looked from a crystal ball as he looked how a Mobian bat killed a rhino and a lobster with his magic, turned the two to energy and absorbed them, before the bat turned into Ixis Naugus.

"They didn't show appreciation to my crude, yet effective methods. Those short minded fools stripped me of a great deal of my power and my godhood. Though I was too strong to be fully stripped of my abilities. I was still immortal. Yet, I couldn't return to the pantheon, forced to wander the planet all alone." A wandering mammoth is seen climbing a mountain, crossing a desert and sailing over the sea in a boat.

"However, I realized soon that the emeralds were still on the planet, entrusted to a race of Mobians picked by the Pantheon itself…" the mammoth looked over to see the emeralds put on pedestals by echidna's. "I at the time thought I could use the power of the emeralds to become a god again, I thought the echidna's would be easy to conquer…yet I underestimated them when one of them, aided by a kitsune and a blue hedgehog stood up, tapped into the power of the Chaos force to my surprise, and sealed me away, putting me into a deep sleep…" the mammoth was hit by three chaos blasts from the Trinity as he sunk into the earth…

"However, a sudden glitch in the Chaos force also disrupted the chaos energies of which my seal was composed…" we see Perfect Chaos arise, as the mammoth busted out of the ground, laughing triumphantly. "However, the glitch made it very risky to me to properly use the Emeralds' power. Since then I thought it'd be best to bide my time. Since I was immortal, I had all the time I need. But now the Chaos force has healed, I can finally make my move." The mammoth finished his story.

"You think it makes you sympathetic, your little story. It shows you are just another power hungry figure, just like Robotnik or Benedict. I don't belong at your side." Lightning stated.

"There is one difference between me and those dictators: I have earned the right to rule this world, I was a god after all. I'm taking what's rightfully mine!" the mammoth stated.

"Lie to yourself and to others all you want. Make excuses all you want too, but you can't force me to help you." Lightning said.

"Oh really?" the mammoth said as he snapped his fingers, as Lightning's eyes grew dull and a glowing green mark appeared on his forehead. "You agreed, alongside your friends, to work for me. You are under my contract. You belong to me. You can't resist my power." The mammoth said as a brainwashed Lightning bowed.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you. You all belong to me. I hired you, created you, or saved you. You are marked, I can take away your free will if you decide to disobey…even destroy you if I want to! But I need some manpower for my next plan. So…you play nice, or I'll make you!" he said to the Destructix and the clones, who kind of looked worried and scared. "I'm glad none of you disagree. Soon I'll make my next move, and once again the world tremble at the name of Mammoth Mogul!"

The Nocturnus had entered the tomb, each of them activating the lightings of their suit to light up the tunnels. "The tomb is discovered, but it's not this easy. The tomb of Enerjak is protected for sure." Lien-Da stated.

"Indeed, but no trap is too hard for my intellect to pass by." Zachary said as he activated one of his cybernetic eyes. He saw through the walls and floor, spikes, spears, poison darts and axes ready to pop up when someone would be stupid enough to walk by. "Otis, you go ahead." Zachary said as he pushed a Nocturnus down the corridor, the traps activating instantly and the Nocturnus meeting a rather painful demise. But it allowed the other Nocturnus to use their weapons to destroy the traps.

"You didn't need to do that, we are already reduced in numbers." Kragok growled at Zachary.

"Can't an old man have some fun once in a while? Besides, Otis is a klutz, he accidentally killed five of our own in his first battle." Zachary said with a sadistic smile on his face.

"Just make sure we get out of this tomb with the price and without losing too much of our members." Lien-Da said.

"All right…now, we have set off and neutralized the traps…but we're not out of danger yet, an ancient tribe, even I don't know what species they are…protect this tomb." Zachary replied.

The Legion moved forward, as they came further down the corridor, they came across tall humanoid Mobian figures. They were mostly cloaked, and except for glowing red eyes, no facial features were visible from behind the hood. "Those who seek the power of Enerjak are fools…he shall never rise again, we'll make sure of that. Turn back, we won't hesitate to kill." One of them said.

"I'm sorry, we won't leave without a price." Kragok growled.

"While you won't get your price, it's true you won't leave!" the hooded figures said as they raised their arms in a threatening pose.

"Nocturnus, attack!" Kragok ordered. The Nocturnus soldiers moved forwards to the hooded figures, who somehow managed to produce fire from the sleeves of their robes, hurting the Legionnaires. They also teleported in clouds of bluish white smoke, reappearing behind the Legionnaires, before starting to snap their necks. Kragok and Lien-Da started to look worried.

"They have abilities that are not…Mobian." Lien-Da said.

"Oh for Walker's sake!" Zachary said as he blasted one of the hooded figures, the beam going right through his chest, though the figure seemed fine despite the holes in his stomach. "Oh…" Zachary noted.

Gae-Na snuck up on one of them and pulled off its cloak. Then the Nocturnus could see that under the hoods were a group of Mobian ants. They mere bigger then Feral ants, but still small enough to be held into one's hand. They were clustered together into a Mobian-shaped formation. "Fire ants…of course. Allies of the Edmund tribe thought to have dissapeared eons ago. This is what they were up to all this time." Zachary noted.

"You better believe it. For ages we've guarded the tomb and we do plan to do it for a few more. We won't let Enerjak rise again!" the leader ant on the forehead of the joined ant figure said. This one wore a cowboy hat, a brown vest and boots, as well as a bone necklace.

"I will crush you bugs!" a stubborn but not too bright Nocturnus said as he rushed at the ants, who shot at him, covering his entire being in their tiny bodies, before heating their bodies up, using their own body heat to roast and kill the Legionnaire. The other Nocturnus started to become frightened.

"We didn't count on this, how do we defeat them?" Lien-Da asked.

"I'd suggest chemical warfare, since they're bugs and all…" Gae-Na said.

"Excellent idea. Nocturnus, use your chemical bombs!" Lien-Da said as she and the others grabbed some chemical weaponry from their belts and used it on the ants. The Nocturnus themselves protected themselves with their masks, but the ants weren't so lucky as they coughed and fainted, turning into neat piles of unconscious ants.

"Let's stomp on them them now!" one of the Nocturnus said, before Zachary stopped him.

"You idiot, those ants are living heat sources, if you stomp them, they'll react with the chemicals now in the air and become living bombs!" Zachary said.

"Everyone carefully step around the ants, let's go deeper into the tomb right now!" Kragok said as the forces mobilized once more.

They finally came into the inner sanctum, where the sarcophagus lied in the middle of the room. Around on the wall were various writings. "The history of Enerjak, explained in these writings." Zachary said as he studied them.

"The first Enerjak was an echidna who along his wife Aurora-La gained a higher understanding of the Chaos force, and were offered a spot at the side of the Walkers. However, the power of Chaos had corrupted him, turning him to Enerjak. He was defeated by the Walkers, his being dispersed in the Chaos force, though his spirit was still active…" Zachary said as he paused before turning to a different set of writings.

"Then the conflict between the brothers Edmund and Dimitri started. Both had qualms about how to harness the power of the Chaos force the best, and for what use. Edmund sought enlightment and more benevolent uses, Dimitri through brute force, technology and conquest. Dimitri created a techno-armor that greatly empowered him, shaped in the image of the original Enerjak, also taking the name as a means to strike fear in his foes. However, as he modified the armor to further tap into the Chaos force, the original Enerjak's spirit possessed him…though Edmund succeeded into sealing Enerjak once more."

Zachary then moved to the sarcophagus and read the inscriptions on there. "In this tomb lies Dimitri's mummy. Though Enerjak's spirit has been casted off, some of his essence remains in his corpse, and can be used to reestablish a connection with Enerjak. With him on our side, we shall be once more the dominant echidna tribe!"

"You do realize the first two incarnations of Enerjak were uncontrollable? You are sure you can find a way to properly control him?" Kragok asked.

"One of my genius should think of a way. Though we can bring back Enerjak, it can no longer be in this mummified body, we need a new host, one with an exceptional connection to the Chaos force." Zachary stated.

"We can't use any of our own, our numbers have decreased too much." Lien-Da stated.

"Then I suggest we use someone who we won't miss, someone of the Edmund tribe or one of those traitors." Zachary suggested.

"It would be the best way of revenge, an Enerjak created from one of their own ranks that will wipe them out." Kragok said delighted.

"Preferably one from the guardian line himself. That would be the greatest irony of all." Lien-Da added.

"But how are we going to get close enough to capture them? And how are we going to transfer the essence of Enerjak into them?" Kragok wondered.

"Well…er…there are these two dictators now fighting for control right? That Robotnik guy and that Benedict guy…they are enemies of the guardians right. I mean, evil dictators are after the Master Emerald." Gae-Na said nervously.

"I'm not aligning myself with any of them. We Nocturnus have our pride!" Kragok growled.

"No…I didn't mean that. Well…can't we wait until they distract the guardians and then…we make our move?" Gae-Na suggested.

Lien-Da and Kragok looked at each other, before Lien-Da said: "That's a brilliant idea! Once again, well thought, Kommisar!"

"Really? Er…thank you, my liege!" Gae-Na said as she bowed.

"Now get your bodies in gear, carry that sarcophagus out before those ants wake up…we have to prepare for the Nocturnus' glorious return to power…" Kragok ordered.

Both the Grandmaster and Mammoth Mogul were planning their move at the same time, taking delight in the thought of power once again being bestowed upon them. Both started laughing, the screen switching between them, before the screen is split in half, one half displaying the left half of Kragok's face, the other the right half of Mogul's face as they continued laughing madly.

TO BE CONTINUED


	101. The wedding, part 1

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND ONE: HEART WARMING WEDDING, PART I

In a hidden location, a certain albino echidna was watching with a sadistic delight how the captive fire ants, former protectors of the tomb of Enerjak, were trapped in a giant ant farm. "So…how does it feel to know that you have failed in the very mission that was your entire life?" he asked a certain ant.

"You still haven't won!" Archimedes said defiantly.

"Oh really? Then you didn't know? We found a Chaos Emerald! After Chaos' defeat it's safer to use them, and we'll use it to bring back Enerjak to lead us to glory once more!" Zachary said.

"Your glory is just another word for bloodshed. How can you be so casual about something as disgusting as that? You'd slaughter your own race like that? You'd risk the extinction of the echidna's for your own sick game?" Archimedes bit at him.

Zachary chuckled. "What if I do? It's not my fault the misplaced pride of the Grandmasters and Pachacamac got out of hand. I'd say let them destroy each other."

"What? Don't you care about your people?" Archimedes asked confused.

"I don't care for anything. They think they'll be able to control Enerjak, and I'll let them in that deluded state. I'll just watch things unfold and see how the world goes to Hell…that has to be one good show." Zachary said with a creepy smile.

"You're doing this just to amuse yourself? You're insane, they won't let you go through with this!" Archimedes shouted.

"Who are they going to believe, fire ant? You, an ally of their foes the Edmund Tribesmen, or me, one of their own? You'll never get out to stop me either, this frame is fire, psychic and teleport-proof. So I just suggest you sit back and enjoy the show…I know I will!" Zachary said as he turned around leaving the room humming.

In Knothole, certain blue hedgehog was fumbling with a bow tie. "Walkerdamnit…stupid piece of cloth…" he only succeeded in tying his hands together instead of tying it around his neck. "I don't even know how that one happened."

"Need help?" Tails asked amused to his big brother figure.

"Yes please, this bowtie is killing me…literally, it nearly cut off my air supply during my first attempt." Sonic groaned.

Tails rolled his eyes as he without trouble managed to get the bow tie on right. "There, now you look proper…you really are nervous, are you?"

"What do you expect? It's me and Sal's big day." Sonic stated.

"You manage to look Robotnik in the eye without blinking, face giant robots without fear, look up at giant space stations that can destroy the world while still joking along the way and this is the one thing that gives you cold feet?" Tails asked.

"I'd rather be fighting giant robots right now…I love Sally, don't get me wrong. But it's a very special day for her, and I don't want anything to go wrong…I want her to remember this day fondly." Sonic said.

"Nothing goes according to plan, you should realize that. But it's those tiny surprises during our missions that made us look back on them with a smile on our face. I'm sure Sally will remember this one fondly anyways." Tails assured him.

"Hey, I'm the big bro, I'm supposed to do the counseling." Sonic said.

"I know, but I'm returning the favor for once. Now, you ready to go out there and make Sally yours forever, on this very Good Will's Eve, and truly give the day she never forgets?" Tails said.

"Well, I'm sure we won't be able to forget how Muttski insisted we put 'pin the tail on the feral donkey' at the wedding party for sure." Sonic said. Both laughed at this comment. "But seriously, you're right, no matter how it'll turn out, it will result in the same: Sally and I are together forever and we'll never forget it…and if Buttnik or Benedict try to do anything I'll shove the Good Will tree up their…" Sonic stated.

"Yeah, let's not jinx it right now." Tails said.

Meanwhile, Sally was preparing herself as well, Bunnie doing her hair. Due to the serum Nicole created, she appeared healthy, but she had on regular base inject a new batch of serum to keep her going. "Now there, dontcha look darlin'?" Bunnie said as she put the finishing touch on Sally's haircut.

"It looks really nice. You know…I never thought I'd want to feel pretty…I already felt that way whenever I'm around Sonic. But now…I just want to feel pretty for him…sounds stupid, right?" Sally stated.

"Nah, the day is special, you're marryin' your childhood sweetheart, your lifelong friend and lover, of course you want to feel pretty…and now you sure are, Sally-girl." Bunnie said.

"I suddenly think of something, I haven't seen Nicole all day. Isn't she normally in charge of coordinating everything?" Sally said.

"She said she had wanted to surprise ya with somethin', but she needs confirmation first. But no worries, she let Fiona take over, that gal will make sure nothin' goes wrong." Bunnie answered.

"Nicole is normally not the one for surprises…then it means it must be something important. But after what we've all been through, what can actually surprise me? I've seen gods, giant robots and monsters…I wonder what she'll be pulling off." Sally stated.

"Beats me, ah'm as much in the dark 'bout this as you are. But we can trust Nicole on this one. She knows what she's doing." Bunnie assured her.

Meanwhile, with the Secret Service, the allies of the Freedom Fighters. Mr. Tate was just speaking with his right-hand man Sommersby. "I see the Freedom Fighters managed to defeat the monster called Chaos, and the civilization of the echidnas have been brought back. We should send a few agents out to check it out…not I mistrust them, just need more data." Mr. Tate said.

"I understand, I'll talk to a few agents. You need me for something else, sir?" the Mobian bulldog asked.

"No, that's all for now…after you're done, go enjoy Good Will's Eve with your wife. You deserve it." Mr. Tate said.

"Thank you sir. A nice Good Will's Eve to you!" Sommersby said as he left.

Mr. Tate, in his automated wheelchair, moved behind his desk, checking his computer once more. To him this time of year was lonely, all because of a cruel twist of fate…However, as he checked out a few files, he was surprised when a program he didn't conjure showed its face. And that face seemed familiar. It was the face of a lynx girl. "Hello, Mr. Tate."

"You…I know you, you are Nicole of the Freedom Fighters. So it's true, you are a living program. What are you actually doing in my personal computer? How did you get in?" Mr. Tate stated.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but it's about a matter that might concern us both. To be honest, after fighting my way through Robotnik and Benedict's mainframes, all other firewalls are a breeze. But no worries, my intrusion has not left your computer vulnerable. It's just I need confirmation on a matter I've been studying since a mission I've been on in Eurish." Nicole explained.

"What would you need me for? I know we of the Secret Service are valuable allies to you, but I don't know what you're getting at." Mr. Tate asked.

"I came across a roboticized sub-boss in Eurish, one we always believed to be the father of Sally Acorn…turns out it was an imposter all along, I found out after getting some data from his mind. I went through extensive searches, to find out where the real Maximillion Acorn was…well, looks like I found you!" Nicole replied.

"What makes you think I am?" Mr. Tate asked.

"It was tricky, I searched through a database of the world's population to see if there are any doppelgangers to Max Acorn, suspecting they must have switched places…so I had to track the whereabouts of the 'doppelganger' over the years, which was the trickiest part since the tracks were covered rather well, but if you're a living program, your mindset changes for the better…so, Mr. Tate, or should I say, Mr. Acorn…why the secrecy? Why never revealing yourself to your daughter, why hiding?" Nicole answered.

"So, you're doing this for your friend? (sighs) Yes, you did your homework well, Ms. Lynx. I am the real Max Acorn. Or I was, behind these bandages no longer lies the face of a man. A lot has happened, too much to know where to start…but what good would it do Sally?" Mr. Tate asked.

"She's going to marry soon, I thought that for this special day, she might wanted to know that out there is a father that does love her, instead of the fake one that used her for his own gain." Nicole stated.

"I'm not sure it would be a good idea, her life has been going well up until now, I'd be bringing back painful memories to her. Is it wise for me to show up at the best day of her life, only to have it destroyed like this?" Max replied.

"You don't have to reveal yourself just yet…you can just watch the wedding for now, but after the whole thing is over form ceremony to honeymoon…she might need to know. After all, your name has been smeared by the fake you for some time, don't you want to get the respect and love of your loved ones back?" Nicole said.

"They have moved on without me. Alicia has remarried and has a son, while Sally is about to have her own wedding. I might want to watch it happen, but afterwards I need to vanish from her life. I'm no longer needed." Max said.

"They have different lives now, that is true, and things won't be the same as before, but once we explain everything to them, I'm sure you can be part of their lives in the future again." Nicole said.

"How would you know?" Max asked.

"I'm a Mobian turned program, yet I'm able to live with my mother normally. If it works for me, then why not for you?" Nicole stated.

"My life was destroyed by him…and with it the bonds I used to have. And it's own because of my own gullibility. I just found him one day when I came home from work. To say the least we were both surprised by how much we were alike. Not only in looks, but we both had wealthy backgrounds and similar hobbies, even had the same first name…his name was spelled with two 'x', but still…The most important difference was I worked hard to achieve my fortune, he merely inherited his but lost it due to bad decisions. He looked down and I wanted to cheer him up. I took him to a pub, which proved to be a mistake…

To say the least, I got drunk, and he took advantage of that. He switched clothes and places with me, and in my drunken state I had flapped out important details of my life…he took my life while he left me to take the fall for bad decisions which he had made…including getting involved with the mob, to which he owed a lot of money. They didn't kill me, but they were the reason I had the bandages and the wheelchair. And later on, due to fraud he had committed, I was sentenced to jail in his place. He had planned it out so well. I heard about the damage he's done, Alicia couldn't see Sally grow up, Sally probably hates her 'father' right now." Max explained.

"I can still vouch for you, I have collected a lot of data during my search, I can approach Sally about the subject and explain things to her, and when she's ready to accept it, then you can come in." Nicole suggested.

"What use will it be?" Max asked.

"If there would be any chance to make things right, wouldn't you take it? Well, now is that chance!" Nicole answered.

Max sighed. "You're persistent. But unfortunately smart as well…I'm out of arguments. Though I have no faith at all, you're right that I can still try. But if it goes wrong, I told you so!" Max said, finally giving in.

"Good…the wedding is in three hours, you can still make it through the underground transport network. Now, I'm needed with my friends again, so I'll go now, but you better keep true to your word, Maxie." Nicole said as she disappeared from his screen.

Max sighed. Yes, he was still unsure. "But at least I get to witness one of my daughter's greatest moments. I did this all for her…the Secret Service was all this time to help her from the shadows…guess wouldn't hurt to step out the shadows just this once.

"OH NO MUTTSKI!" Cosmo said sadly, as she facepalmed. Muttski stood beside her, though his face was swollen up. "What were you thinking tasting the non-vegan cake! You know what dairy does to you!"

"Sorry, but Muttski had mixed up the frosting of the cakes, normally pink was for the normal cake, blue for the soy cake!" Muttski barely managed to mutter.

"Put some ice on his face, that always helps. Luckily he didn't accidentally eat any meat, you don't want to know what allergic reaction he gets with that!" Fiona suggested as Cosmo carried Muttski away.

"You think the ice is going to help?" Tails asked.

"Not much, but enough so Muttski can go back in public by the time the wedding is about to commence. Luckily it's not too bad, cause Sally and Sonic want the entire Freedom Fighter group to be there." Fiona replied. "Now, who else need to come?"

"Manik and Sonia are already here with Madame Rosie, Monsieur Chuck and Sonic's parents. Lupe and Lobo still need to come with the underground network, and we are also expecting Knuckles and his wife. I heard that he's bringing his family along to introduce them. The Chaotix are not coming…someone needs to keep guarding Angel Island and the echidna's still need to adapt to modern times a bit." Antoine said.

"Then we don't have to forget to save those guys a slice of cake…Where is Nicole, she said she would be back by now." Fiona said as she checked her watch.

It was then that Nicole walked in, back in her body. "Sorry it took so long, but I manage to finish what I was working on for now. So, how are things?" Nicole asked.

"Only the last few guests need to arrive and then we're good." Fiona replied.

"Good, I can take it back from here. But first I need to talk to Dulcy and Antoine first, can you tell me where they are?" Nicole asked.

"They're hanging up some decorations in the other room." Fiona said.

"Good, I'll be right back." Nicole said as she moved to the other room. It was a wedding and it deserved celebration, but it was also Good Will's Eve, a holiday that celebrates peace, hope and unity. It was one of the most important celebrations Mobius had…and it was at such a holiday Sonic and Sally wanted to get married, as their marriage will bring out more hope and unity then they could imagine. It would be not only a celebration for them, but all their friends, for being there for them.

"Hey, Nicole, how was your talk with 'your new friend'?" Dulcy asked.

"I think we'll have to take things slow, but I was still able to convince him to attend for now." Nicole stated.

"I hope you know what you are doing. It will be shocking to Sally as it is, we still haven't told her what we've learned during our quest." Antoine stated.

"How were you able to keep quiet about it, Dulcy? I thought your gauntlet prevent you from lying?" Nicole asked.

"The gauntlet prevent lying, not keeping quiet. Besides, I can still tell a bit of truth without revealing too much, like: 'Nicole is doing something that might surprise you in the future'." Dulcy explained.

"Oof, that's good to know. We don't want her to find out on this day, that'd be horrible timing. I mean, would she be able to put her heart into things when we tell her all this time the father she knew turned out to be an imposter?" Nicole said.

"SAY WHAT?" a voice came from behind them. The three turned around, with an awkward look on their face as they saw Bunnie and Sally standing there, Sally having a horrified look on her face.

"I knew I should have upgraded my auditory receptors before I got back." Nicole cursed to herself.

"I…I…I need to sit down." Sally said as she grabbed a chair and sat down, still staring blank in front of her.

"Oh my…I ruined her big day. And me worrying about Dulcy flapping things out…"

TO BE CONTINUED


	102. The wedding, part 2

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO: HEART WARMING WEDDING, PART II

The Chaotix, minus Knuckles and Julie-Su, who had left earlier today to attend the wedding, were at the Emerald shrine. "I wish I could be at that wedding…then we could have cake." Vector moaned.

"I know, but someone needs to watch the Master Emerald, and the echidna's still need to be brought up to date about present times some more. Knuckles promised he'd record it though." Espio replied.

"Besides, we have our own Good Will's Eve party right here, so we do get to feast a bit too! Besides, Knuckles will do an after-Good Will's Eve with us too!" Charmy said excited.

"We'll probably get more chances to attend weddings." Heavy said. He and Bomb were playing cards. "Got any three's?" Bomb beeped. "'Go fish?' How do you keep doing it?" that was the third time in a row Bomb beat Heavy at card games. The little bomb shaped robot grabbed the bolts he and Heavy have bet on this card game.

Mighty has been unusually silent this whole time. "What's the matter Mighty?" Ray asked his brother figure.

"I have an odd feeling…like something big and dark is coming. I can't explain the feeling, but it sends chills up my spine." Mighty answered. "It's something I've felt before, but I can't recall when and where. It's like a memory that has been long gone, but at the same time it's not."

"Listen, we have dealt with the bad guys before. We have security and we have a whole team of the echidna police force thing on our side. Don't worry so much! Nothing is going to ruin our Good Will's Eve." Vector said.

"HAPPY GOOD WILL'S EVE!" Flying Frog shouted at the Destructix base. He had a bright green elf-like outfit and carried a bag of presents on his back. The disturbing part was the elf outfit was very feminine, with an added skirt and all.

"Argh! You're trying to make me blind with your outfits?" Nack said as he covered his eyes. "I hate Good Will's Eve!"

"Why would you hate Good Will's Eve! There is snow, there is joy and song and the Good Will's Elf brings everyone presents and stuff, riding on his flying dragon into the night to make all the boys and girls happy!" Flying groaned.

"My parents didn't celebrate that crap. They just kept working as always and they made us study like always. Even when my stupid sister and the vixen tried to have a secret Good Will's Eve party we had to do so with a geranium and a bunch of self-made crappy toys." Nack explained.

"But I have some nice toys this time! Get into the spirit, the others are too." Flying said. Actually, the others were merely looking annoyed at the childish toys Flying has given hem, minus Lightning who was still mindless from Mogul's spell and Drago, who was actually dumbly playing with the toy like a little kid. "I got cookies too!" Flying said as he pulled out a plate of cookies. But a green blast shot across the room and shot the cookies out of his hands. "He shot my cookies!" Flying cried.

"It is time for us to move. We have no time to waste. The guardian is away, and the Emeralds is ready for the taking." Mogul noted.

"But he still has his little friends on the look-out and a bunch of echidna's at their side. It's not going to be that easy." Predator noted.

"Your lack of faith disappoint me greatly. You think I'd move out like this if I didn't have a plan? Besides, this time I'm entering the fray personally. They should not be any trouble to me." Mogul stated.

"But they have tight security and booby traps and that sort of crap." Nack stated.

"True…but I have thought of everything. I have a few moles in the enemy camp. They won't know what hit them." Mogul said with a grin on his face.

"I have special presents ready for them!" Flying said as he showed off a new bag of goodies, which consisted of bottles of poison, bombs and several sharp objects, all with ribbons tied around it. "It's going to be one killer party!" Flying said, going from the goofy to the disturbing persona once more. After all, Flying reinvents himself every day.

"I hate dresses!" a grumpy Julie-Su said as she and her husband have made it in the secret underground transport channel. It was used mostly for transport between chapters of the Freedom Fighters, from people to weapons to food. But today it was their ride to go to Sonic's wedding.

"Oh come on, it's not so bad, you look wonderful." Knuckles tried calming her.

"I feel drafty!" Julie-Su said. It made Knuckles laugh. "It's not funny! I want to show respect to your friends, but I wish there were better ways to look formal."

"You know…I heard one of the Freedom Fighter's brothers is a fashion designer, maybe he can pull off the formal-without-dress look for you." Knuckles stated.

It was then that they heard one of the guards (the secret underground needed to be protected after all) shout: "No access allowed!"

"But we need a ride to Knothole, we need to warn Sonic and the Freedom Fighters about something!" a familiar voice said. Knuckles then noted Team Maverick talking to the guard. Nic had been trying to convince the guard to let her through.

Knuckles approached the guard and said: "Don't worry, they're with me!" Knuckles said as he showed off a badge that was given to him by Sonic and friends, that verified his status as a honorary Freedom Fighter.

"Oh…my apologies, ma'am! Go ahead!" the guard said politely.

Nic smiled at Knuckles. "Thanks, Guardian. Luckily you were around!" Nic said.

"You're welcome. What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked.

"There's a slight problem…oh, who's your female friend?" Nic answered.

"That's my wife, Julie-Su…long story, I'll tell you later, what's the problem?" Knuckles asked.

"We need to notify the blue blur…has he ever told you about a doppelganger of him or something?" Nic answered.

"Yeah, he did tell me once, but he drowned. I mean, if Sonic can't swim, his doppelganger can't either." Knuckles replied.

"Well, he hasn't drowned. We fought him, and he was alive and well. I don't know how, but we saw him: he was as fast as Sonic, but dumber and less skilled. And he was a womanizer." Nic stated.

"That's bad news…but this isn't exactly the right moment, as Sonic is going to get married an it's Good Will's Eve." Knuckles stated.

"I know…but…you know that it's not a good sign. It's better that they are prepared in case he comes back. Because he was not alone, he had a bunch of guys helping him…a crazy frog, a hawk, a gorilla and stuff." Nic added.

"Wait…were there also a lynx, a bee, and a very dumb wolf? And an Irish doppelganger of me." Knuckles asked.

"Yeah. That's right, except for your Irish copy! You know them?" Nic asked.

"They have made some trouble for me and the Chaotix too…it's indeed worth mentioning to the Freedom Fighters. You and your team come along." Knuckles said as he gestured for Team Maverick to follow him.

"What was that all about?" Julie-Su asked.

"We'll explain on the way. I think fate is being a dick to us again." Knuckles answered.

At Knothole, Dulcy has handed a glass with some drink to Sally, who was clearly shaking. "You feeling a bit better?" Dulcy asked as Sally emptied her glass in one gulp.

"I…I…" Sally stammered but that's all she could bring out.

"Me and my big voice chip! I ruined the wedding! How am I going to explain to Sonic that Sally is in a state of shock and convince him it's not because Sally got cold feet but because I…" Nicole said, but couldn't continue.

"I-I-I'll be fine. J-j-just need to take it all in at once." Sally barely managed to say.

"It was dumb of me. I am supposed to be a really smart AI right now but I make Mobian mistakes." Nicole groaned.

"You are technically Mobian." Dulcy stated.

"You know what I mean. I should have thought this through a bit more. I could have waited until after the wedding, but my own curiosity about the data we received led me to try to find Max. I thought I'd be helpful to Sally but instead I…" Nicole muttered.

"Nicole, you're ranting." Sally managed to bring out, a bit more composed. Dulcy poured more liquid in her glass and Sally gulped it down again. "I know you tried to be helpful and I'm not mad for that…I'll just have to shrug it off for now and get my wedding going…I have time to worry later." Sally continued, sounding more bold for some reason.

"But Sally…" Nicole wanted to say.

"No buts…you just come with me, be my maid of honor…and let the evening go as planned. Now, get your rear in motion!" Sally said as she went out the room and dragged a confused Nicole along.

"Dulcy, what was in that water you have given her?" Antoine asked.

"That was no water…she needed something stronger." Dulcy noted.

"If eet eez alcohol, then sacre blue! Sally doesn't mix well with that." Antoine asked.

"Oh dear…what have I done?" Dulcy noted.

The church was filled to the brim, everyone was there to witness the wedding of their two friends. Only Knuckles and Julie-Su had to arrive yet and two seats were saved for them. "Knuckles is late…Hope he isn't lost or anything." Tails noted.

"I know he's thick-headed but he can't be this dense, right?" Fiona asked.

It was then that Knuckles and Julie-Su came rushing in. "Excuse me for being late…we ran into some familiar faces on the way." Knuckles said as he showed Team Maverick.

"Hey sis!" Nic said as she greeted Fiona.

"Hey!" Fiona said as she walked up and hugged Nic. "What are you doing here? And how did you get a dress on such short notice?" Fiona asked.

"Well…I'll tell after the wedding. I just happened to be around and I dropped in. So, how you've been doing?" Nic asked.

"Oh the usual: fighting evil dictators, met the Ancient Walkers face to face, faced a giant monster made of water, that kind of stuff!" Fiona said.

"Even for Freedom Fighters, your lives are quite exciting Nic noted."

"The bow tie's killing me!" Bean squirmed as he tried to loosen the bow tie. Slicer and Bark, who also wore a bow tie, rolled their eyes.

"I see your buddies haven't changed." Fiona said.

"So…how was your time with Team Maverick, Slicer?" Tails asked.

"I found it quite satisfying. Much more than I ever could be with Eggman…or is he called Robotnik now?" Slicer replied.

"There are no extra seats, we didn't expect you…so I hope you don't mind standing?" Tails noted.

"It's all right." Nic assured them.

"Oh, quiet now, it's about to begin!" Fiona noted as she and Tails sat down.

Sonic stood in front near the priest, nervously fidgeting with his own bow tie. The organ music started to play as Sally was walking down the aisle, arm in arm with Isaac, who would be giving her away. Sonia and Megan walked behind her, carrying a basket of flowers, spreading them everywhere.

"Muttski always cries at weddings!" Muttski said as he let out an anime waterfall of tears, Cosmo and Rotor, who sat at his left and right brought out umbrella's to protect themselves.

"I'm so glad we're able to witness this day!" Bernie said as she got emotional too and wiped her tears with her handkerchief, as Jules wrapped her arm around her. His eyes were wet, though he didn't shake any tears, yet he felt proud.

"I don't like sitting still like this!" Manic moaned, sitting nervously in his seat.

"Now be on your best behavior for your cousin's sake Manic!" Rosie said to her son.

"I will, but I don't like sitting still and see them do mushy stuff!" Manic groaned.

"Now, to you it's mushy stuff, but to them it's the best day of their life. They'll make oaths and pledge themselves to one another forever and…" Uncle Chuck said to Manic.

"And then have a fun time in the bedroom!" Manic said smugly. His parents looked awkwardly at him. "What? We didn't only get fighting lessons at the FF academy, you know! We learn normal stuff like math and biology too!"

"I swear, they keep introducing those sex ed classes earlier and earlier!" Chuck said as he rubbed his temples.

Sally and Isaac have made it to the front, Sally had nearly tripped over her own gown two times during the walk. Isaac made his way to his seat, next to Alicia as they watched with certain pride. Sonic was zoning out at how beautiful Sally looked.

"Everything looks fine…the booze didn't affect her too much…she appears to be a little more bold now, but for the rest. Except the near-tripping, but she always does that when wearing those shoes." Dulcy muttered to Antoine, worrying that giving Sally the drink might make things worse.

"I zhink eet will get a bit awkward later on." Antoine noted.

Max (in his Mr. Tate alias) has rolled in the church in his wheelchair, keeping himself in the back to not be noticed too much…in the one eye that was visible through his bandages a tear ran down his cheek.

"We have gathered here today, to witness the unity between these two wonderful young persons. Who didn't just have a normal bond. No these two have fought their way through a war together, they fought together, and they fought for each other, and with each other. And now, under the eye of the love goddess Ai, they shall be united in wedding!" the priest muttered. "Now it's time to exchange the vows."

Sonic pulled out a note on which he had prepared a vow, but as he opened his mouth, nothing came out. He just scrunched the note into a ball and tossed it away as he just spoke his mind: "Sal, you and I have known each other for a long time, and we've been through a lot. I won't go over all of them, most people already know and I just want to say a few things. Though I want to be at your side forever, I pretty much already have been, so that won't change. I'll still be by your side, either has your husband, or as a warrior, anyways I'm always with you Sal. And now what's going on today…no one will be able to take that away from us!"

Sally wanted to open her mouth too, but stopped for a moment as she thought for a few moments as she then finally said: "You do know how much I love you Sonic, and I have already told you and showed you in every way…it's just I can't say anything I haven't said before…I just love you so much and I want to be your wife, and that's all that needs to be said on a day like this!" Sally said. There were a few chuckles among the crowd, they words came from her heart but it was amusing to listen to.

"Now you exchange the rings!" the priest noted. Elias has come up with a pillow, both rings on top of it. The green gemstones, which were Chaos Shards were visible on top. The lovers took the rings, before Elias gave his sister a wink and moved to sit in between his mother and his girlfriend Megan.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Sonic said as he put the ring on Sally's finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Sally said as she puts a ring on his finger.

"With the power invested in me by the great goddess Ai, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss…" Sally, feeling really bold due to the drink, pulled a surprised Sonic close to her and kissed him really passionately. "…the bride." The priest finished, amused.

Everyone cheered for the newlyweds as they then ran down the aisle. The people started throwing rice, as it was traditional. Only, Sonic barely avoided being hit by something that was not rice, but left a yellow stain on the wall behind them.

"Bean!" Nic growled at her crazy green comrade. "You throw rice at a wedding, not rice pudding!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't find any normal rice, and licking the pudding of the rice would be really, really gross!" Bean noted.

"Hey, what are we standing around for? There's a party going on at our place!" Sally said as she gestured all the guests to follow them.

"Whoa Sal, you're really on fire today!" Sonic noted.

"You bet I am, just wait until the after-party!" Sally said with a grin on her face.

TO BE CONTINUED


	103. The wedding, part 3

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THREE: HEART WARMING WEDDING, PART III

After the ceremony, everyone gathered for the wedding reception afterwards. Before the ceremony, Sonic would have a private talk with Sally. "Sal, you were kind of…really bold out there near the altar. I don't complain, but when you kissed me…could it be I tasted something that tasted slightly…alcoholic?" Sonic asked worried.

"Could be…I was really nervous and Dulcy handed me a few drinks. Come to think of it, I'm thirsty again." Sally replied.

"Sal, you know you can't hold your drinks! And you, nervous about our wedding? That's something I wouldn't expect from you…I mean, you're pretty composed most of the time. Is it you had doubts?" Sonic asked worried.

It was then that Nicole and Dulcy approached them. "Oh, there you are. Now…Sonic, you've already figured out Sally had some liquor…that's our fault. You know, I shouldn't have bothered Sally with it, but I've done some research and what I've found out kind of shocked Sally and…" Nicole stated.

"Research, about what?" Sonic asked.

Nicole bit her metallic lip as she decided to spill the beans. "No one else can know for now but…The one you know as Sally's father is an imposter, it was not the real Max Acorn. I found the real one. I didn't want Sally to find out, but she accidentally overheard it." Nicole stated.

"Wait, that jerk is a faker? Then who…" Sonic asked surprised.

"I'll tell everything later, but for now, please keep quiet. We brought some special food. Food rich in calories and grease should help suppress the alcohol." Nicole said as they showed a plate of chilidogs.

Sonic couldn't resist reaching out for one, but Dulcy slapped his hand away. "No, these are for Sally. You'll get one later. Now…I'm actually the one who gave Sally the drink, I didn't know she would react that way to it. I tried to help." Dulcy said.

"Well, Sally never told you so I guess you couldn't know. But be more careful next time about giving some strong stuff to anybody." Sonic replied. He then turned to Sally. "Now Sal…you heard the girls, take a chilidog, that should make you feel better."

"I feel fine! I feel better than ever!" Sally said as she let her hand run down Sonic's chest. "Want me to show you?"

"Whoa…I almost forgot that drinking also made you aroused. You better take that chilidog right now…" Sonic said as he grabbed Sally's wrist before it would go any lower.

"But I don't want to…" Sally said, but Dulcy had grabbed one and shoved one down Sally's mouth, taking her by surprise. Sally was forced to chew and swallow down the chilidog.

"You think one's enough or should we give her a few more?" Dulcy asked.

"A few more to be sure…how are we going to explain to Muttski afterwards Sally already feels stuffed to eat much of the feast he prepared is beyond me." Nicole stated.

"We'll think of something. You keep the crowd a bit entertained before they start asking questions and I'll see if I can make Sally eat a few more of these chilidogs." Sonic stated.

"Okay…just be careful, Lionel would kill you if Sally would get chili on that dress." Nicole said as she and Dulcy left the room.

'Mr. Tate' was just sitting there in his wheelchair in a corner in the room. He hadn't seen Sally or Sonic after the reception and wondered what could take them. He knew they probably had their reasons. He looked around the room to see various people around the room, Freedom Fighters and their families alike, talking happily. It was a holiday after all, so people would always have a good talk and have fun.

"Hello!" a voice said behind him. Mr. Tate recognized that voice as he turned around. It was Alicia, Sally's mother. Oh dear, he didn't know what to say. To him she still looked as beautiful as she did all those years ago. He had hoped to remain into the background but that plan would be ruined. "I don't think we've met, Mr…" she asked.

"T-Tate. Matthew Tate." Max said quickly. He remembered how fast Alicia is to meet and befriend people. How he couldn't have anticipated that.

"Oh…the head of the Secret Service? People tell you never leave the base. Though I can understand why…" Alicia said as she studied him. "Sorry to ask…but how did you…" she asked.

"A jerk had let me take the fall for him with the mob he had trouble with. Then was sent to prison in his place." Max said. He didn't mean to open up to her like that, but it was Alicia after all.

"Oh…sorry to hear. That such foul Mobians and men exist. But even in these dark times, a simple fest like Heart Warming's Eve or a wedding can fill you up with a speck of hope. No one, not Robotnik, not Benedict, not whoever did that to you can take that away." Alicia said.

"I must admit…I kind of feel better for going out for the first time since long. Even after I got out of prison, broken as I was…I still felt trapped. But seeing this union between these two fine youngsters…makes me feel a bit better." Max answered.

"They're not ordinary youngsters either. And it's not because they're Freedom Fighters. It's because their bond is stronger than anything what I've ever seen. They grew up together, fought as soldiers in a war together…and as a mother I couldn't be any prouder." Alicia noted. She then turned to Max again: "Do you have children, Mr. Tate?"

Max didn't want to answer, but he couldn't ever lie to her. "I had a daughter…but due to what that bastard did, all the precious time I could have had with her has been taken away from me. And with what I am now, even if I found her, how could I ever go back into her life?"

"Have you ever tried? You don't know what you can do until you try…that's how the Freedom Fighters weathered the storm over and over again." Alicia stated.

"I have found out her whereabouts…but I don't know how to approach her about it. Her life is already a mess as it is. I don't think that it's the right moment." Max said.

"If you keep delaying it, it will never be the right moment." Alicia stated.

"I know…but she's not the only one I have to return to." Max said.

"You had a wife…it's sad to have your life partner taken away from you like that. I used to have one I loved deeply. But then it was like he became a totally different person. I used to believe he might at one point loved me, but whatever happened to him, he was no longer the man I could love…" Alicia said.

"Maybe because he was never the man you loved." Max muttered softly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Alicia asked.

"Oh nothing…" Max answered quickly. "Just that…when you feel that life is going as it should be, it always somehow gets turned upside down."

"Life never turns out as it should be…but it's how you recover and continue on living that matters. And sometimes, things might turn out even better than before, if the right requirements are met." Alicia said.

"It would take a lot of requirements for my life to go that way…" Max said.

"Alicia, honey. Who are you talking to?" Isaac has joined the two.

"Isaac, this is Mr. Tate. Leader of the Secret Service. Mr. Tate, meet my husband, Isaac Landon." Alicia said.

"The spy organization that helps out the Freedom Fighters? Nice meeting you sir!" Isaac said. Max knew of course Alicia had a new husband. But it didn't make it any less painful. But he kept the feelings for himself. He of course understood…the imposter has erased the love Alicia once felt for him, and she had found comfort with someone else, one that has made her happy…so that's why he couldn't hate the guy.

"Nice meeting you too." Max said as he shook his hand.

"Must be nice to be so big…I'm a simple mechanic. I can help out making a few vehicles and stuff, but you are on top of a great organization. And you know my wife's in the High Council?" Isaac stated.

"Oh don't be like that Isaac, you have a useful occupation. And I don't love you any less for it." Alicia stated.

"She's right. As long as you can make her happy, it doesn't matter. How I'd all give it up to find true love once more…" Max stated.

"He had a rough life." Alicia explained shortly to Isaac.

Back with Sonic and Sally, the latter has managed to purge the alcohol from her system. "I feel a lot better now…I'm sorry it has turned out this way. I hope you don't think less of me because of this." Sally said ashamed.

"I don't blame you. If I got to hear something turn-life-upside-downing like that, I'd probably also do something stupid. Besides, it at least gives us something to laugh at when thinking back to this in the future." Sonic replied.

"They're probably expecting us back, how are we going to explain this?" Sally asked.

"Let me take the word, okay? No, I won't make a fool out of us!" Sonic said as he and Sally left to meet the rest. They went inside, and it didn't go unnoticed as all of the guests turned towards them.

"Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long, but me and my wife needed some alone time…no it's not what it sounds like people!" Sonic began as everyone chuckled. "Now, I'm glad you're all here, really! You know, there is a good reason we chose to marry on Good Will's Eve. Yes, it's a holiday of peace and good will and stuff, but it's a day of being together with family, and all of you guys are my family at heart…except you Hamlin, you're kind of a jerk!" Everyone laughed again at that last statement.

Hamlin, formerly a bully from Sonic's childhood, whom unlike Geoffrey and Ash hadn't matured upon growing older. Geoffrey and Sonic were on more friendly terms and Ash…well let's talk about that later. But Hamlin was still a hot-tempered jealous fool. He had unfortunately made it into the High Council, but not due to being elected. One of the members, Cyrus was suffering from heart problems so Hamlin had taken his place, no one being happy with that. But his mother was a very nice woman and a good friend of his parents, so he allowed him and the rest of the High Council to attend, as long as his mother could keep his son in check.

"But a wedding is not a wedding when there's no one around to see it. Because of you guys this is actually special. Because you supported us in any way, either on the battlefield, or in life itself, or throughout my and Sal's relationship. Because every married couple needs friends and family to have our backs, if we do something stupid or argue someone has to help us mend things after all. That's why we married on Good Will's Eve. Because we are not the only ones who deserve gifts. On our special day, we want to thank our friends and family for being with us all the way!" Sonic finished his speech.

Everyone clapped loudly at the speech. "Sonic, you never cease to amaze me!" Sally said, who was also impressed by the speech.

"Yeah, I'm wonderful like that." Sonic said jokingly. "What are we standing around here for? Let's exchange the presents already! And there is a huge feast to be had!" Sonic said to everyone as everyone started to cheer.

"Yay, party!" Muttski said as he lifted a glass of punch and drank it. He stood frozen for a few seconds before passing out.

"And I thought Sally couldn't hold her drink." Dulcy noted.

"The odd thing is, that punch was supposed to be non-alchoholic…" Nicole added.

"Oh, almost forgot!" Sally said as she grabbed her wedding bouquet. Who wants this one?" she asked. All the girls at the wedding readied themselves as Sally tossed it. Everyone reached out for the bouquet, but it flew over them, as a flustered Ellen Lynx, who hadn't even planned on making a move to the bouquet. He and Merlin stared at one another for a bit before blushing and looking away from one another, everyone laughing at this.

The rest of the evening was everything you'd expect. There was fun to be had, spirits to be brightened, laughed and feasted. Minor mishaps sure, but nothing that wouldn't be laughed at later. But a day no one would forget, especially the newlyweds.

Mammoth Mogul has looked at a very special pocketwatch he was carrying, in the reflective surface seeing the events transpire. "So…they've had their fun, now we move out." Mogul said.

"Wait, why did you wait until the end of Good Will's Eve?" Scourge asked.

"What gentleman would I be if I interfered with such a special holiday. Unlike you, Scourge, I have standards. Besides, if they are going to die together, then let them be together for a little while. Patience is a virtue, one I have taken to heart." Mogul replied.

"I don't get it!" Scourge said.

"Not surprising, being as dull as a teaspoon and just as emotional." Miles noted.

"I heard that!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	104. The fall of Angel Island

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR: THE FALL OF ANGEL ISLAND

The echidna's had been rebuilding their lives after being released back in the real world. Both clans have made up, and now were as one. No longer the Tribe of Edmund or the Nocturnus existed (minus the splinter group). Instead it was the tribe Albion, named after the legendary city of echidna's from legends, from before the tribes split. So naming it that way would be perfect to symbolize the unity.

The city was protected by a forcefield, just like Knothole was. And like Knothole, it has its own law enforcement team. A joining between the Edmund Tribe Warriors and the Nocturnus Enforcers, the Echidna Security Team. Though they had to make sure nothing went wrong on Heart Warming's Eve, they all had a little celebration of their own. "To a new era, and everlasting peace!" Remington said as he and the enforcers raised their glasses at this particular holiday. Remington has been chosen to be the Commander of the Echidna Security Team.

"It feels good having these more quiet and slower moments. We don't celebrate holidays at the Nocturnus…but this change is rather welcome." Shade said with a soft smile.

"Even after the biggest storm, a calm must come. Wind has to lie down, downpours need to stop…" Martz said, ever so poetic.

"I'm even surprised you agreed to join the enforcers. I thought you were an artist at heart?" Remington asked Martz.

"I'm an artist, but for now I keep it as a hobby. We're still at war, no longer with each other but with two dictators. I don't like fighting, but I know of myself I have skill and I want to put it to a better use. Besides, I am amongst friends am I?" Martz stated.

"Are you sure you aren't just glad to be around Shade?" Remington teased.

Martz blushed… "She and I have just been friends for a long time."

Shade blushed too. "Indeed. There's nothing wrong with enjoying each other's company, right?" she added.

"Just teasing you, lovebirds!" Remington said with a chuckle.

"Oh, and there hasn't been anything going on between you and Komi-Ko?" Martz teased back.

"I won't deny that unlike you two. She and I are dating and I'm proud to say, why so shy, you two?" Remington said smugly. Shade and Martz blushed at this. "Just kidding, guys. Let's enjoy the party for as long as it lasts."

They should, cause the party would indeed not last that much longer. Mogul stood in front of the protective shield around the city, his minions in tow. "Impressive tech the Nocturnus have developed. This one could almost prove a challenge…but this shield is powered by chaos-based energy, so to me…" Mammoth Mogul said as he softly moved his hand across the outer side of the shield.

"Oh, you can touch it! I thought that if you'd touch it you'd be…" Scourge said as he poked the shield with a finger, only to get a painful electric shock, before withdrawing his finger, black and charred. "…shocked."

"You idiot. Mogul can touch it because he has a bigger expertise with chaos energy." Miles berated.

"Oh, it's not like you can do much better." Scourge growled. Miles poked his finger at the shield without harm. "How did you do that?"

"Mogul teaches me a few tricks. He has more faith in me then in you with advanced chaos techniques." Miles mocked.

"Why'd you trust the runt with all that power and not me?" Scourge asked Mogul. Mogul whacked him on the head with his cane. "Ouch! What the f*** did you do that for?"

"That 'runt' is more useful to me then you. You may have super-speed, but I warn you, if you dare question me again…" Mogul said as he pulled out a mirror-like object. "I'll shatter this, which means you lose your body and you'll fade away."

"But that would kill the runt and O'Nux here!" Scourge pointed out.

"My name's not O'Nux!"

"I'll recreate them afterwards. I have the skills." Mogul said as he put the mirror away again. "Now…if you would kindly step in line, and we proceed with the attack as planned." Mogul said as he was ready to work his magic on the shield.

"Wait!" Flying Frog said as he jumped in front of Mogul. He poked his finger at the shield once, and of course he was shocked. As he staggered away from the shield, eyes twirling and black and charred, he then said: "Okay, go ahead!" with a huge grin on his face.

With one fellow swoop of his cane, it impacted the shield and then a crack appeared. The crack started to grow over the rest of the shield, the worried echidna citizens looking up in the sky as their protective barrier started to crumble. The echidna security forces didn't waste any time evacuating the civilians to the bunkers as a group of well-armed sentries arrived on the scene, waiting to fight what was about to come.

Over the Mushroom Hills, a large group of creatures appeared. Mogul gave the signal and the creatures ran down the hill and advanced upon the city. Remington was fuming in anger. "I don't know who it is who can shatter the shields like that, but I won't let it get to my city. We just have resettled, and then these guys have to ruin it for us!"

"I don't think they're guys…" Martz said as he looked at the creatures through some binoculars. "They appear to be crystal golems or something." He added.

"Let me see…" Remington said as he took the binoculars and took a good look. "They match the description of Naugus' Crystal Army. But Knuckles said they were buried in the Southern Tundra."

"Looks like someone unburied them. I guess we have no choice but to fight." Shade said as she pulled out her signature Leech Blades.

"I don't care if it's the godly Pantheon attacking, they won't take the city! Echidna's, unite! Charge!" Remington ordered. The echidna troopers charged, weapons out, ready to face off against the Crystal Army.

"There's a red alert…there is a group of invaders attacking the city. The Crystal Army? They were supposed to be buried in the ice!" Heavy stated as he checked out the ruckus on his terminal. Bomb beeped. "I can see they're unburied now!" Heavy stated.

"Just great. Best timing ever, note sarcasm. Okay Chaotix, we need to move out. Heavy, Bomb, you manage the security systems. Use the robot sentries as a last line of defense. Me and the others will go help mow down the army. Don't let them get to the Master Emerald." Vector said. Heavy and Bomb nodded and took position behind their consoles, while the rest of the Chaotix moved outside to help fight off the invasion.

The battle was already going on in the middle of the city. The echidna security forces and the crystal beings were brawling. Remington led the charge, grabbing his collapsible spear and using the bladed end to slice off the heads of the crystal golems. He impaled one on his spear before tossing it into another group of golems. He then sticks his spear into the ground and spins around on it and kicks down a group of crystal golems surrounding him.

Shade has brought out her Leech blades and slashed both horizontally, cutting of the head and the legs of a crystal golem at the same time. A crystal golem tried sneaking up on her, but she activates her warp belt to teleport behind it and slice him in half. She then impales two more crystal golems on her leechblades.

Martz puts his Leech Blades together, forming one huge Leechblade, which he wielded like a rapier. He lashed and stabbed at several of the crystal golems, making them fall apart. He saw one particular golem and delivered a few fancy swipes on it. After this, the golem seemed to fall apart, only to reveal a crystal statue of Shade. "I really should keep my work and hobby apart." He thought to himself.

Two more have joined the fight against the crystal golems: Locke and Athair. Lara-Le and the kids were safely evacuated, but as former Guardians they insisted on getting on some of the action. "Still not old enough to help in this fight, grandpappy?" Locke asked.

"You'd be surprised what I can do at my age." Athair said with a smile as he and Locke attacked the crystal golems.

Locke punched one crystal golem heavily, shattering his head. He lifts up the decapitated body and tossed it into a pile of other golems. One golem tried lashing at him, but he dodged, grabbed the arm of the golem and ripped it off, pummeling the golem with it.

Athair was still fast and strong for his age, as he uses flicks of the wrist and his mere cane to effortlessly block various attacks of the golems before knocking them away with his cane. He jumped over a golem, flipping in the air, and then struck it in the back at a weak spot, making it fall apart.

"The crystal golems get their butts handed…even outnumbered the echidna's are stronger." Scourge noted.

"Maybe, but they do a good job at tiring out the resistance…fight at your heart's contents now." Mogul said. The Destructix all had wicked smiles upon their faces as they charged into the fray themselves. Drago trips along the way before getting up and continuing.

Meanwhile the Chaotix have arrived on the scene and see how well the echidnas were doing against the Crystal Golems. "Nice to see that they can hold their own. But still no reason for us to stand here just watching." Vector said as he and the Chaotix dove in the action themselves, tearing down at the crystal golems themselves.

But things really started to turn chaotic when the Destructix entered the fray. They weren't numerous, but they were not mindless like the golems and they were dangerous. At least most of them.

"Fear the wrath of Drago!" Drago said before he howled to the sky above. The echidna security forces just shrugged their shoulders and dogpiled on top of him, having no trouble whatsoever. "Ouch, my back!" Drago moaned.

The other Destructix did more damage…Scourge wasn't as skilled or trained like the echidnas, but his speed made up for it as he took them down by spin-dashing into them and using super-speed punches.

Miles just casually walked forward, like he was having a stroll in the park as he was fired upon by the echidna forces. He just waved his hand to raise a chaos shield and protect himself from the blasts. As he got closer to the echidnas, he rushed towards them, sliced their weapons apart with his tails and then used them to slam them with the force of a hammer to knock them down, before casually strolling along again.

O'Nux joined in the fray. The echidna's were confused at first since he resembled Knuckles a lot, but O'Nux didn't waste time by rushing at the echidnas and punch them in the face, sending them flying. Several echidna's piled up on top of him, pinning him down, but he uses his superior strength to easily knock them all off.

Flying Frog had dressed up in a red bodysuit and a gas mask as he started playing around with a flamethrower he had pulled out of nowhere, laughing insanely as he did so (even if muffled by the sounds of the gas mask) as he started burn down buildings and set the echidna's uniforms on fire. "We got a Pyro on our hands!" one of them said in panic.

Simian used the strength of his new crystal arm to his advantage as he grabbed a slab of concrete from the road and lift the huge block and toss it at a group of echidnas. Several more tried ganging up on him, but he punched the ground and create a shockwave to knock them over.

Predator Hawk swooped over the echidnas, knocking them down as he passed. As he swooped down again, they fired their lasers at him, but Predator agilely dodged the blasts, except one which shoots the feathers on top of his head. "No, why always the hair?" This pissed Predator off as he slashed the face of the shooter with his claws and punched him in the stomach before tossing him away and swoop at the rest, knocking them down as well.

Mello had his own electric stinger gauntlets, which he used to shock and knock out the echidna guards one by one. He grabbed one from behind, shocking him unconscious, as he grabbed a laser from the guard and use him as a shield as he fired away at the other echidnas.

Nack just had pulled his guns and while not as good as his sister he was a sharp shooter, shooting the weapons out of the echidnas' hands or shooting them in the shoulders, arms or legs to disable them. He used his tail as a spring to dodge and jump over some echidna laser blasts before shooting them down as well.

Lightning, who was pretty mindless at that point but still was very capable, as he pulled out shuriken to destroy the weapons the echidna's carried before using his speed to run across a wall and then dive in the group of echidnas and quickly take them down with a few speedy kicks and punches.

"The Destructix? Here? Oh, they're just asking for trouble now! Hey, Locke, Athair, echidnas! The one in the beret is not Knuckles, he's an imposter. I think those two with him are imposters as well, so don't hold back!" Espio warned the others.

"I notice…my son would never fight this dirty." Locke noted as he rushed at the fake Knuckles. "Hey, you! Who do you think you are, using the image of my son and disgrace it with your presence?"

"So you're Locke…when your son regained his memories, I felt it as well. So you are his dad…which kind of makes you mine too! So 'dad'…let's go!" O'Nux said as he rushed at Locke, as the two immediately both launched a punch, their fists collide and a wave of chaos energy erupt as they clashed, shattering nearby windows and leave an imprint in the ground.

O'Nux punched Locke in the stomach swiftly and wanted to slam both his fists on Locke's back as he doubled over in pain, but Locke was also quick as he uppercuts O'Nux and knocks him back. As O'Nux staggered, Locke tried punching him, but O'Nux caught his fist. Locke tried punching with the other hand, but that hand got caught too. But then Locke planted his foot in O'Nux' stomach and kicked off to push him back. The two then started exchanging punches, their fists colliding, creating sparks of chaos energy as they clashed before they both delivered a strong chaos-powered punch, which sent them both flying back as it collided.

Scourge rushed through another group of echidnas as he came across Shade. "Hello, sweetheart!" he said, and rushed at her. Shade tried slashing him with a leech blade, but he was too quick and knocked it out of her hand and held her tight. "You know, that suit leaves little to the imagination…but still a bit too much for my liking." Knuckles said as he searched for the lid of the suit in attempts to push it off. Then Scourge felt a pain in his back as he lets go of Shade, who kicked him in the groin for good measure before she rushed away from his side.

Scourge looked back to see he had been stabbed by Martz' Leechblade, and the furious artist still held his weapon pointed at him. "You match the description of the blue hedgehog, yet you are nothing like him. Your eyes are clouded like a thunderstorm, as Knuckles said the real Sonic has an air of playfulness and adventurous spirit in his eyes."

"Why does everyone figure out I'm not the real deal?" Scourge moaned…

"Cause you are much dumber and fight much sloppier then the real Sonic." Miles muttered.

"I didn't ask you anything, pipsqueak. Now, Mr. artist, I don't like what you did." Scourge rushed at Martz, and due to his speed he could knock Martz over before he could react. "You're pathetic excuse for an echidna."

Martz pushed a button on his wrist armor, and two objects popped from the ground next to Scourge. They let out an electric pulse which hurts Scourge, as Scourge dropped down on his knees, paralyzed by the shock. "It appears your speed is your only edge." Martz said. However, Martz then got knocked out as Miles had snuck up on him and delivered a karate chop to the back of his head.

"Martz!" Shade said, having recovered from the shock that Scourge tried to do something dirty to her. She lashed with her leechblades, but Miles blocked with his tails. Shade warps away with her belt and reappears behind Miles, kicking him in the back of his head. Miles pretends to be unconscious as Shade approaches him, but then at the last moment shot up, and used his tails to slam Shade in a near wall and knock her out.

Miles then moved to Scourge. "Shocking isn't it? How I always succeed where you fail?"

"Ha-ha! Real creative pun. Now get me out of this predicament!" Scourge said, still writhing in pain due to the shock devices.

"Ok…but first see how these things work." Miles said with a smug grin in and tapping his finger on his chin like he was thinking.

"You're just stalling so you can see me in pain more, do you?" Scourge asked.

"Maybe…" Miles said, still grinning smugly.

Remington dodged behind a piece of rubble as he was barraged by a bunch of bullet's from Nack's guns. He couldn't get close since his weapon didn't have enough range. But he knew Nack has limited ammo. He saw his chance when Nack did a reload (though he reloads quickly due to his skill with guns) but it left him wide open as Remington tossed his spear, knocking the guns from Nack's hands.

He then runs swiftly at Nack before he could get to his guns, but Nack jumps up using his tail as a spring and then smashes down on Remington, knocking him to the ground. But Remington grabbed Nack's tail and bit it. "Yargh! What's wrong with you?" Nack said, crying in pain.

"I fight to win!" Remington said as he picked up his spear and hits Nack in the back of his head with the non-blade tipped end, knocking him out.

Vector headed right towards Flying, but he notices Vector and aimed his flamethrower at him, Vector dodging behind some rubble to avoid the flames. "Damn psycho…" Vector muttered. Vector grabbed his headphones and pushed a button and rushed from behind his hiding place, using the sonic function of his headphones to blow back the flames, cutting through them like a huge gust of wind and knocking the flamethrower out off Flying's hands.

But then Flying pulled out an axe, as Vector's headphones ran out of energy and rushed at him. But Flying was hit by something as he fell down flat on his face, stars dancing around his eyes. It was Athair who had knocked the frog out with his cane. "Need help, sonny?" Athair asked with a smile on his face.

"Coolest old man ever!" Vector thought.

Predator Hawk was still in the sky. "Nobody beats me in the sky!" he boasted. Until something swooped past him and nearly hit him, Predator barely dodging. He notices Ray. "You! You're not even supposed to fly!"

"I don't question it…but this time I kept training with Mighty's help, I'm stronger now!" Ray said.

"Let me see if it takes more than thirty seconds for me to cut you to ribbons!" Predator swooped at Ray, who also swooped at him. Predator slashed with his claws, but Ray pulled out his twin batons, blocking the slashing and kicking Predator in the face. Predator backhands Ray and sends him flying in a building before swooping at him. But Ray breaks loose and flies up as Predator barely brakes in time to avoid crashing in the building.

He then flies up to Ray, who flies up high in the sky, in front of the sun, which blinds Predator as he tried to look at Ray… "Argh! Clever boy…" Predator muttered before the sun-blinded hawk got struck with Ray's batons and sent flinging into the ground.

Mello saw this and wanted to come to Predator's aide, but he was met by a black and yellow blur which tackles him. "Ah, Charmy-chan…good to see you here. I've missed you." he said smugly.

"I wish I could say the same, but I was taught that lying is really bad!" Charmy said as she pulled out her electric stingers, Mello doing the same, the two clashing their electric blades as bursts of electricity engulfed the area. "You caused the downfall of the Golden Hive, and then you seek to destroy my second home as well?"

"Nothing personal, just orders from the big man. He can be very convincing. But I can perhaps be too…I can convince him to spare you if he levels the place." Mello said, not losing his cool.

"I decline!" Charmy said as she pushed Mello back and struck him with the heel of her booth, which has a built-in taser due to some tinkering from Heavy and Bomb, shocking him and sending him flying.

Simian had pulled a lightpost from the ground and use it as a club to swat at the surrounding echidnas. But Mighty moved in and grabbed the pole from Simian, crushing it in a ball of metal before throwing it at Simian, who used his crystal arm to shatter the metal block with a punch. "You are strong, armadillo, but I have become stronger too!" Simian said as he rushed at Mighty.

"I'm as strong as I need to be to protect my friends!" Mighty said as he rushed at Simian. Simian punched Mighty, but Mighty caught the fist. Indeed, Mighty was struggling against Simian's new strength, but Mighty still managed to be stronger and then tossed Simian aside. He rushed at Simian, but Simian punched Mighty, knocking him on his back.

Simian then tried to punch a downed Mighty again, but he curled up into his ball and Simian's fist bounced off Mighty's sturdy shell. Mighty then got up, planted his hands in the ground, and pulled up a part of the street, with Simian still on top, who had to clamp down on the street to not fall, before Mighty flipped the slab upside down and Simian was covered in the concrete rubble, knocked out.

Espio confronted Lightning again. He saw the dull look in Lightning's eyes. "You seem a bit off…are your thoughts still your own?" Espio asked. Lightning didn't react as he ran towards Espio and delivered several powerful kung-fu like punches and kicks, which Espio blocked and countered with several moves on his own. "I see they're not…there is no personal touch to your fighting, just basics…what have they done to you, Raiju?" Espio asked.

Lightnign didn't reply as he did a backflip and tossed some shuriken, which Espio dodged by rolling to the sides, all while tossing his own shuriken, which Lightning dodged by doing some tricks in the air before landing on his feet like the feline he is.

Mogul had come walking in the city, pleased at how the echidnas were weakened by the crystal army and the Destructix. He smiled as he lifted his cane and then slammed it into the ground, and the crystal remains of the fallen golems reformed into new golems, making the army as numerous as it was before. "I win!" Mogul said.

The renewed golems manage to overwhelm the echidnas which had been tired out, and managed to knock them out or pin them down onto the ground. As Locke was fighting O'Nux, he was suddenly grabbed from behind by two golems. O'Nux then had free game and punched Locke in the face, knocking him out. "G'night, dad!"

Two golems cut the devices that kept Scourge in place to ribbons, as Scourge finally could move again. "Couldn't you have done that too?" Scourge growled at Miles.

"What? And ruin the fun?" Miles said smugly.

Espio was also locked in a fight with Lightning. But he saw several golems close in on him. Espio turned invisible and climbed up a wall to escape since he couldn't fight them all off. But Lightning, due to his acute senses could trace Espio and pointed the golems in the right directions as they crawled up the walls as well, one reaching out and grabbing Espio's ankle, before dragging him down and make him fall to the ground, knocking him out on impact.

"We got a bit of a problem here…" Vector said as he saw the golem army increase again.

"Not to worry…I'll deal with it!" Mighty said as he cracked his knuckles. Then Mogul appeared in front of them. "Who are you? Are you the one who is ordering the Destructix around? Are you behind the copies as well?" Mighty asked.

"Correct…but I've done much more. You don't remember me, do you?" Mogul asked Mighty.

"Should I?" Mighty asked.

"Maybe you need a reminder…sit, please!" Mogul said as he pointed his cane at Mighty, whose eyes started to become dull and green and a mark appeared on his forehead. He then sat down on the ground. "Manners are such a good virtue. You get things done better this way. Please, Mighty, put your friends to rest!"

Mighty stood up as he rushed at Athair and Vector and to their surprised, grabbed their throats. "Mighty…what has gotten into you?" Vector asked in a raspy voice.

"When Mighty was young and lost his parents and sister…I found him and unlocked the strength that was hidden inside him. I also planted a suggestion in his mind. I allowed him free thinking and choice in his actions up until this point…but not anymore. Knock them out, please!" Mogul explained. Mighty knocked Athair and Vector's heads together, and knocked them out. "Now, bring me to the Master Emerald…"

Mighty dropped Vector and Athair and bowed, gesturing towards the direction of the Emerald. "Thank you, you are most kindly." Mogul said. He passed Ray and Charmy fighting off some golems. "Now, if you two would stop fighting and get in line please…" he pointed his cane at them and Ray and Charmy's eyes became dull and sported the same mark on their foreheads as Mighty. "It was a good thing I found you two prior to your time in the Chaotix as well. Granting Ray the ability of flight, and make Charmy's stinger unbreakable was a nice addition! Now, kindly follow your master." he ordered. The flying squirrel and bee bowed and followed Mogul.

Heavy and Bomb saw the footage of the fights that has been going on at the streets. "I don't know how the fuzzy elephant guy did it, but he has hypnotized our buddies. Bomb, we're the last line of defense. We'll fight." Bomb beeped. "I don't know if we'll make it but we just can't let him have the emerald like that!" Bomb beeped again. "I know, nice knowing you too, brother."

Mogul could easily pass all the traps set by Heavy and Bombs, due to draining the knowledge to analyze them from Mighty's mind. The turrets, forcefields and bombs all stood there, crystallized and useless by Mogul's magic. Mogul entered the inner chamber, Heavy and Bomb battle ready. "Oh yes, the rogue robots." Mogul noted.

"You shall not pass! I always wanted to say that." Heavy said as he grabbed Bomb and tossed him at Mogul. Mogul pointed his cane and with a single spell traps the robot in a crystalline prison.

"Such spirit for such artificial beings." Mogul noted. Heavy did the only thing he could do at that point: charge at Mogul with all his weight, but a flick of Mogul's cane was all it took to trap Heavy in a crystal prison as well. "But good…I have other things to attend to." Mogul moved towards the Master Emerald, a smile on his face. "Hello old friend…" he muttered to the gem. It was now his…Angel Island had fallen.

TO BE CONTINUED


	105. Attack on Knothole I

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE: ATTACK ON KNOTHOLE, PART I

Angel Island has fallen. Right now the echidna's were prisoner in their own kingdom, all of them forced into house arrest, cowering in their homes as the Crystal Army patrolled the streets and stood guard. The Echidna Security force were locked away in jail cells that were meant to hold criminals, though they've been stuck themselves.

The Chaotix weren't doing much better. Three of them were mindless slaves to the conqueror, while the rest of them were put in a special isolation cell apart from the others, their hands and feet chained to the walls. Heavy and Bomb were trapped in crystal so they served as ornaments for the evil being that had taken over the Island.

His throne stood right in front of the Master Emerald, and he now had his power under his command. He was already powerful without it, but now he would be a real force of destruction. His minions, the bounty hunters, brainwashed Chaotix and the clones stood in front of him, bowing. Mogul raised his hands as he spoke: "Rise my subjects!" they stood up at his command. "One third of the Trinity is my prisoner…the allies of the Guardians are disabled or enslaved. Now it is time for us to move on to the remaining Trinity."

"You have the Master Emerald, you are supposed to be all-powerful now. Can't you just snap your fingers and vaporize them?" Scourge asked. Mogul raised his cane, which magically extended and whacked Scourge on the head. "Ouch! Why did you do that for?"

"Because you're being ignorant once more. There is a reason I didn't confront the Guardian myself, though I may have been able to defeat him. No, the power of the Trinity, I want to study it in order to make it my own…that's the only reason the Guardian still lives, and it's also the reason I recruited you and created your fellow clones. The Trinity's power is legendary, and while I may control the Master Emerald and my powers have indeed increased, I cannot use its power the way the Guardian can…yet. That's where you come in!" Mogul explained.

"So…We have the same powers as this 'Trinity'? Are we capable of the same great feats? Or rather, are I and O'Nux capable of the same feats?" Miles asked.

"Hey, I can be just as great as the blue turd I'm based on!"

"Don't call me O'Nux!" The two clones said respectively.

"To answer your question…no. You are powerful, that much is assured, you have some of the defining traits the Trinity has, but you are flawed copies, and you're incapable of using the full power of the Trinity. You were created as a means to study the power, but you are nothing but flawed copies. You probably will be obsolete once I get my hands on the Trinity as a whole." Mogul said.

"And you say this flat out in our faces?" Miles growled angrily.

"Of course. After all, I created you and can undo it just as easily, since I have the mirror that created you. If I shatter it, it's bye to you and O'Nux, and bye to Scourge's organic body. So it would be unwise to disobey. But you can prove yourself useful by assisting in the attack of the settlement the remaining Trinity members live, and maybe I might be able to improve you so that you will be able to completely access the powers your counterparts possess." Mogul replied.

"So…you're going to launch an attack similar to the one on this island so you can study the Trinity properly…Why make it complicated while you can easily do it yourself?" O'Nux asked.

"Like I said, I've learned a lot about patience during my long time alive. Time is something I have a lot off, and it's something that I can spare on something that is worth the trouble. I just want see if they're worth my personal attention." Mogul stated.

"What about us Destructix?" Nack asked Mogul.

"You have been terribly inept in defeating either the bounty hunters or the Chaotix on your own…however, since I have managed to already put this island under my rule, I feel generous. You shall live, and you shall have a place in my new world as long as your loyalty doesn't fade." Mogul noted.

"Is the world you promised off worthy discarding everything else?" Mello asked.

"Ah yes…you're the one who thinks that to gain something of value, something must be discarded…well, I think I have the one thing that is most valuable for you. Charmy?" Mogul noted.

The brainwashed bee girl reported to Mogul. "Yes Master?"

"Give our friend Mello everything he asks of you. You're going to be most loyal to him, only second to me." Mogul said.

"Understood…" Charmy said as she bowed before moving towards Mello. "I'm Charmy, I'm at your service, master Mello!" she said, both monotone due to her mindless nature, but at the same time also a bit seductive.

Mello grinned a little bit, but there was something awkward about his smile. "Not the way I imagined getting her back…but it's good enough I guess." He said as he and Charmy hooked arms. "Me and Charmy are getting 'reacquainted', warn me when we get to Knothole." He said as he walked off with her.

"Remember, all of you can be rewarded too if you prove yourselves worthy to remain in my service…" Mogul said.

"No worries, boss. This time we are prepared!" Nack assured him.

A few days after the wedding, and after the fall of Angel Island, Tails was back into his lab, working on inventions that might prove useful in the future. Currently, three watch-like devices were the center of his attention. "The elemental shields are done…underwater missions and missions in insanely hot places like volcanoes will be much safer and easier. And the magnetic and jump-enhancing abilities of the electric shield make it easier and quicker to pass obstacles and collect items. And they're compact too…" Tails thought to himself.

It was then that Tails was contacted on his communicator. "Yes Nicole?" Tails asked.

"I have picked up a distress call. You and the others have to come and see this!" Nicole stated.

"I'm on my way!" Tails said as he put the watches in his pouch and left the lab, ready to meet up with the others.

The remaining Freedom Fighters all had gathered, all being summoned by Nicole. "Nicole, you said you picked up a distress call, from who is it?" Sally asked.

"It's from Angel Island…the signal is very weak, and it was sent several days ago, but some interference of sorts caused me to only pick it up now. If it wasn't for the fact I could recognize one of the Chaotix' robotic members on it, I wouldn't even be able to tell where it was from." Nicole conformed

Her eyes flashed and she displayed the holographic message through a hologram. A fuzzy Heavy (due to the static) appeared and you could barely make out the message: "Angel…Island…invaded…need…help…mammoth…over…Might…Crystal…" then the signal went dead.

"As far as I understand, Angel Island was invaded…and I guess 'Might' is for Mighty…but I have no clue what 'Crystal' or 'mammoth' means…something with the Emeralds? But no one refers to them as 'crystals'. And aren't mammoths supposed to be extinct?" Sonic wondered.

"I don't know what the threat exactly is…but one thing is sure: the Chaotix are in big trouble. And we must help them." Sally noted. "Nicole, can you locate the current position of Angel Island?"

"I've tried to already, but the same interference that messed with the message also seems to have hidden Angel Island from my scanners. I need to try a few other methods of tracking before I can find it." Nicole replied.

"Then you better get started. Whatever it is that they tried to warn us about, it's at least smart enough to hide an entire island." Tails noted.

"You think Robotnik or Benedicts is behind it?" Sonic wondered.

"I don't know…this might not be their style. I mean, they're not the only bad guys on Mobius. Sure others are not as successful as them, but that doesn't mean that they're no threat. It's mostly my instinct talking but still…" Sally noted.

Back on Angel Island, Mello had taken Charmy to his room…normally it would have been his wildest dreams coming true. However, the lack of personality Charmy had was a big turn-off. Mello looked depressed, while he should have felt happy. "Is something wrong Master Mello?" Charmy asked.

"Charmy-chan…you feel mad at me?" Mello asked.

"I am not supposed to feel mad. I am supposed to serve you, Master Mello!" Charmy droned.

Mello sighed. "Do you love me, Charmy?" he asked.

"If you want me to love you, I can love you." Charmy stated.

"No…can you love me of your own choice?" he asked.

"I'm not supposed to make my own choice!" Charmy droned.

"What if I ask you to?" Mello asked.

"You can't…that would go against Master Mogul's wishes, and he's the one I'm supposed to be loyal to above anything else." Charmy explained. Mello became frustrated as he stood up, let out a scream in anger and punched the wall. "Did I do something wrong, Master Mello?" Charmy asked.

"No…you're not to blame for this Charmy-chan…" Mello answered. "I discarded a lot to have the most valuable…but having Charmy discard her will and emotions worth it?" he thought to himself. "Let's go back to the others, Charmy-chan." He muttered.

"Okay, Master Mello!" Charmy responded.

"Stop! Please put your clothes back on first!" Mello warned her. One downside of being mind-controlled is that you lose a bit of IQ along the way.

In Knothole, everyone seemed content after having celebrated Good Will's Eve, as well as the wedding of the Freedom Fighters Sonic and Sally. It appears that things looked bright at the moment. Sometimes you love the times of peace so much you tend to forget how fast the peace can be over… "Why did it go dark all of a sudden?" a citizen asked as suddenly a shadow was cast over the city…thought it was day and there wasn't supposed to be an eclipse.

"Guys…I think we found Angel Island." Sonic noted as they saw the island tower over Knothole.

"I don't know why, but somehow I have a bad feeling looking at the island…like something dark is lurking there." Tails noted.

"Me too…I didn't know we could even sense things like that." Sonic noted.

"I think that every time you use the Emeralds, you gain more Chaos Powers…and my scanners confirm that there is indeed large amounts of negative chaos energy on the island." Nicole stated.

"I just hope the Chaotix are okay…I hate to think what they'd do to them." Fiona stated.

"We'll save them when the time comes…but for now we don't know what to expect as of yet." Sally noted.

Mammoth Mogul stood over the edge of the island, looking down, his army and the bounty hunters behind them. He looked at Knothole down below, seeing the confused faces down below. He smiled as he raised his cane and summoned a burst of lightning, which hits the shield, as it started to crack just like the shields of New Albion did earlier. The confusion down below turned to full out panic as the citizens started to scramble. Once the crack was big enough, the shields crumbled and holes appeared in the shields. "Attack!" Mogul ordered.

The crystal golems started to run and jump of the edge of the island, plummeting to the ground below, but landing safely without injury due to their crystalline composition. The ones amongst Mogul's ranks that could fly flew down, while others were picked up by the golems as they jumped down and landed, putting down the bounty hunters.

"Let's do that again!" Flying Frog noted happily.

"NO!" the others shouted at the same time.

"The Crystal Army? We buried them when we defeated Naugus…and are those Nack and that clone of mine? And who are the lowlifes with them?" Sonic noted.

"I'm accessing my database…the ones with Nack and Scourge all have criminal records, they are big trouble." Nicole said.

"Then they're obviously trouble. Let's take them on, Freedom Fighters! Nicole, signal the Knothole Security Force for backup!" Sally noted.

"Any plans, Sal?" Sonic asked.

"Not for the moment…for now we'll just have to hit stuff until they break." Sally noted.

"Simple enough!" Sonic said with a smirk on his face. If it was something as simple as just wailing down on his opponents, then he was always happy to oblige.

TO BE CONTINUED


	106. Attack on Knothole II

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIX: ATTACK ON KNOTHOLE, PART II

The same army of crystalline golems that had attacked and conquered Angel Island was now invading Knothole. The Freedom Fighters were already on the scene to deal with the problem, but the security forces of Knothole lend the heroes a hand. After all the golems were numerous. Several familiar faces were in charge of the forces.

"Team Alpha, Team Bravo you're with me, and we'll be on the offense. Team Charlie, Team Delta, protect the civilians!" Jules the Hedgehog noted. His past experience as a police officer had earned him a rank amongst the Knothole Protection Unit. His wife Bernie was by his side. The Troopers saluted and moved out, and started shooting at the golems. "Ready, Bernie?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Bernie said as she and Jules pulled out specialized blasters. They rushed into the fray, shooting with deadly accuracy at the golems, blasting their heads clean off one by one. A group of golems noted this and surrounded the two. The two stood back to back as they started firing at the circle of golems around them, striking them down one by one.

There were more golems closing in, but they didn't leave each other's side as they pulled off some impressive feats as they continued firing as Jules ducked to shoot some golems in the legs, as Bernie jumped over him to shoot a taller Golem clean through the head. Then the two locked hands, and then put their rifles next to one another, and in a strange tango-esque manner, spin around and fire, blasting golems apart with double shots. "And Sonic thinks those dancing lessons were a waste of time!" Jules joked.

"It has been a while since I had a good workout." Rosemary Prower said as she pulled out a katana. Due to being raised by the Kitsune Clan, she knew how to use it. A group of golems attacked her, but she reacted with great speed and reflexes and delivered a few swift slashes with her blade, the golems apparently paralyzed. As soon as she sheets the blade again, the golems fell apart in slices.

"I forgot how cute you were when you are dangerous." Amadeus said proudly. Like Rosemary he had received sword training from the Kitsune Clan so he started chopping up some crystal golems as well. He sliced one diagonally in half as he jumped over a punch of another, slicing him vertically in half, and a third one horizontally in half. A fourth nearly got the drop on him, but he stabs the golem in the chest and twists the blade, cracking the Golem and shattering him.

Merlin also participated. He took a deep breath as he focused is magic properly. "Htrae fo sdnah!" he chanted, and from the ground came several rock-like giant fists. "Smelog latsyrc eht hsurc!" the rock hands shot forward and grabbed every crystal golem they could get their hands on and crushed them into crystal dust. Several golems tried to escape from the giant hands of death, only to be chased by the giant appendages.

Ellen, being the new field medic for the Knothole Protection Unit, has seen this unfold. "What a man…" she thought for a brief moment with a loving look in her eyes and a blush on her face before snapping out of it and returning to her duties, helping those who were hurt in the attack.

"Mr. Tate, get out of there." Alicia warned the wheelchair-ridden Max.

"I am the head of the Secret Service. I am a protector as much as the freedom fighters are…I can fight." Max pressed a button on his wheelchair as it started shifting and transforming…into a giant mecha battlesuit. "Remind me to give Tommy a promotion for this wonderful invention." Max said smiling under his bandages.

The Mecha Battlesuit clapped it's hands together, releasing a powerful shockwave that knocked back some Golems, who due to their crystalline structure were very vulnerable to sound. The Machine then grabbed two golems, lifted them of the grounds and smashed them together, shattering them in a thousand pieces.

"Our parents kick serious butt!" Sonic noted, having caught glimpses of the others' fights as he fought of some golems of his own. He spin-dashed in a couple of golems, bowling them over like a bunch of bowling pins! "Strike!" he shouted.

Then the blue blur was tackled down by…another blue blur. The blue blurs collided and rolled down the ground for a while until they came to a stop, Sonic seen lying on the ground, kicking his attacker in the stomach and pushing him into a wall. "You?" Sonic asked as he came eye to eye with Scourge.

"I have a name now, I'm Scourge! And like my name suggests, I'll be the bane of your existence!" Scourge spoke.

"Believe me, that spot is already taken. I don't think Robotnik wants to pass his job down to you." Sonic said.

"Joke while you can, cause I'm going to rock your world!" Scourge said as he rushed at Sonic. Sonic just sidestepped to dodge Scourge's charge and trips him into a tree. "Ow…you got faster!" Scourge noted.

"You think that in my spare time I sit down reading comics? Well, that too…but I also train. In a world where two dictators fight for dominance, I need to be ready at any time. But clearly, you sat on your lazy ass for the last few months." Sonic stated.

"I can beat you!" Scourge growled as he got up and rushed at Sonic. Scourge launches some punches, but Sonic just had to tilt his head out of the way to dodge them. Scourge was really sloppy with his fighting style. Sonic just looked bored.

"Too slow!" Sonic mocked. However, Sonic got grabbed from behind by a Golem, who held him up in the air by his arms. "Oh…forgot about these guys for a sec."

"Hold him still for me!" Scourge said with a satisfied smirk. He moved closer and punched Sonic several times in the stomach. However, Sonic's legs were still free and he kicks Scourge hard in the face. "Oh, you son of a…someone hold his legs for me!" two more golems show up and grab Sonic's legs. "Thank you!" Scourge said as he then continued punching Sonic in the stomach.

"You…cheating…bastard!" Sonic growled weakly. Sonic then started vibrating his molecules really hard, causing the hands of the golems who hold him to glow from the heat and then shatter. Sonic delivered a spread kick to the smaller golems which held his legs earlier. He then landed on the ground, grabbed the bigger golem who held his arms by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder, on top of a baffled Scourge.

The golem lay there for a moment, unmoving as Scourge's dazed face squirmed from under the golem. "You can vibrate like that, I can too!" Scourge said as he shook but nothing happened. "Okay, any second I'll be free…" he said, shaking but nothing happening.

"That vibration move takes practice. Like I said, you barely practiced. So good luck getting out from under there. I'm off kicking butts which are harder to kick then yours!" Sonic said as he moved off.

Tails was cutting off some limbs from some golems using his namesakes. "Time to put these to the test!" Tails said as he activated one of his improved shields. The first was electric, and he rushed into the Golems, who became electrocuted and exploded due to the buildup of power. The second shield was fire and melted the golems to puddles as he touched them. Then the last shield, bubble shield, allowed Tails to bounce real high, and as he landed back on the ground, created a huge shockwave that knocked all the surrounding golems away. "The first test is a success!"

Tails was then tackled to the ground by a yellowish blur. Tails got up and then saw someone who looked exactly like him, except grey comped hair, boots with steel tips and a red militaristic looking suit. "Hello!" Miles said smirking.

"Who are you?" Tails asked.

"I'm a clone of you…though I'm a much better example than that buffoon Scourge…or the failed energy clone of Sonic as you know him. Call me Miles…Tails is such a childish name, you keep it!" Miles stated.

"Who created you? Robotnik? Benedict?" Tails asked.

"None of them. You probably never even heard of my master, but that'll change soon. He'll introduce himself soon enough, and then you'll be out of the picture, and I'll be my own kitsune. And I'll be a better you then you, I'm already more handsome and mature then you." Miles stated.

"At least I don't wear a wig!" Tails noted.

"I'm a natural grey!" Miles bit back.

"I'm no natural grey, and unless you're a flawed clone, you're not a real grey either. Why so sensitive about the wig, I thought you were the mature one?" Tails teased.

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Miles said as he flew right at Tails, who also rushed at Miles in return. The two both launched a punch at the same time, their fists colliding, and bounce of each other. They simultenously launched a kick at one another, knocking one another back. They then both readied their tails and slashed at each other, parrying one another.

"This might be tricky…seeing we're equal. But I have a trick up my sleeve." Tails noted as he looked down at his shield weapons. Only he was missing one of them.

"You mean like this?" Miles asked as he showed off one of the shields he snatched of Tails while tackling his counterpart earlier. Tails growled as he activated the fire shield, while Miles activated the electric shield. The two charge at one another, the shields collided, lightning and fire meet, and as the shields clashed, a small explosion was created.

Miles and Tails were knocked back, the watch-like devices on their wrists fried. Miles rushed at Tails, who at the last second put up the bubble shield again, which popped once Miles slashed at it with his tails. The shield was out of power, but it had slowed Miles down enough for Tails to react and punch Miles in the stomach. Miles replied by kicking Tails in the face.

The two rush back to one another and they locked hands, trying to push one another to the ground. As they push one another back they also lock tails, the bladed tips pushing at one another as well. "You're getting on my nerves…" Miles stated.

"So you hate yourself? Oh, that's right, you're nothing but a copy, you always will be. Even if you get rid of me, you'll just be taking over from me, but nothing you do is of your own." Tails stated.

"I know that…but I want to be free of you, in one way or another, but as long as my fate is in the hands of my master, I have no being of my own…but why am I telling you this? I have a mission to fulfill…" Miles replied.

Sally had pulled out her bo staff and used it to sweep some golems of their feet. She jumps on top of one of the golems and impales him with her staff, shattering him. She pulls out her blade, uses her bo staff to pole vault and slice of some golem heads while she was at it. She connects her blade to her staff, turning it into its scythe form and starts cutting some golems to ribbons.

Mogul watched down on Sally through the magical mirror he held with him all the time. It had multiple uses, including using it to see through any reflective surface as a portal of sorts. From the mirror he could see Sally in action through a reflective piece of window of a building. "Mh…she has skill, she has wits…and she's the true leader of the warrior group the kitsune and blue hedgehog are part off. I could use a right hand woman in the future…" Mogul muttered as he then chanted an incantation.

The reflection of Sally displayed in the window started to move on her own whim, not in synchronization with Sally, but on her own. The reflections smirked as she disappeared, Sally too busy noticing her reflection was gone.

Fiona just had jabbed her dagger in the side of a golem, before pulling hard to shatter him apart. A golem tried sneaking up on her, only to have its head shattered by a bullet, courtesy of Nic. "Thanks sis!" Fiona complimented.

"You're welcome." Nic said back as she unleashed more bullets on the approaching golems.

However, someone had Nic in his visor. "Say goodnight sis!" Nack muttered. However, he didn't expect for Nic to turn into his direction and blast his sniper rifle out of his hands. "Crap! How did she know I was here?" Nack shouted.

"I can smell you from a mile away!" Nic replied as she rushed at her brother. Nack tried to escape by using his tail as a spring, but before he could hop away his sister grabbed his tail and dragged him along by it…right over a pile of crystal shards from some golems that were left.

"Ouch! Ouch! OUCH!" Nack said as the crystal shards hurt his skin. He manages to pry his tail loose before he started picking the crystals out of his skin like they were thorns from a thornbush. "Okay, that was a real sadistic move on your part!"

"Like trying to shoot me in the back was any better. Real brave…note the sarcasm!" Nic muttered. She then held her brother in a headlock and started hitting him in the face.

Fiona continued cutting golems with her daggers as she barely avoided a kunai being thrown at her. She looked around and saw Lightning Lynx. His dull gaze was focused on her. "That's something different then the golems." Fiona thought. Lightning rushed at her, and tried delivering a karate chop, but Fiona dodged by backflipping.

Fiona tried kicking Lightning, but he grabbed her foot and then flipped her in the air, but Fiona manages to get in a position in mid-air that allowed to her to kick back Lightning. She was about to strike with her daggers, as Lightning pulled out Kunai and used them for close combat to parry Fiona's blows. "Now, you looks smarter than the living chandeliers, what is your deal?" Fiona asked. The mindless Lightning didn't reply.

Nic saw the fighting between Nic and Lightning, and noticed something off about the latter. "Hey, what's up with the lynx?" she asked her brother.

"He disobeyed the boss, so the boss took his mind away. He has as much thought and will as a toothbrush right now!" Nack mocked her. Nic became angry and rammed her brother's head into a wall, knocking him out before moving towards Lightning.

Lightning and Fiona were exchanging blows with one another before Nic snuck up to Lightning and grabbed him from behind, holding him back. "Fiona…this is the guy I was talking about. The one of the bounty hunters I could get through to." Nic warned Fiona.

"You always had an odd taste in men." Fiona noted.

"I'm not joking here! Look in his eyes, he's mindless at the moments, someone is controlling him, don't hurt him!" Nic noted.

"I can't promise that, but I can knock him out for you, and then we can see if we can put his mind back together later." Fiona noted. She moved up to the trapped Lightning and punched him hard, knocking him out.

"Thanks. Now we have to get him somewhere safe, and contained, so we can help him later." Nic noted. She and Fiona lifted Lightning up and carried him off.

Nicole strolled onto the battlefield, her new robotic body upgraded since the last time she fought. The design was smoother and closer to her original body. And the weapons she had at the moment were also different. It appeared to be two cylinders filled with multiple tiny silver specs, upon closer inspection you could see they were nanites. She held the cylinders like handles while streams of nanites in the form of a whip-like stream came out. This stream of nanites started cutting through the golems like butter when she swung it. She could even direct the nanites mentally, asking them to form the shape of an axe or a mace on the end of the stream, allowing her to cut through or smash the golems easier.

However, the golems wouldn't be Nicole's biggest problem. She saw a shape coming closer to her, one that looked familiar…Nicole was at first relieved to see who it was, until his dull eyed expression came into view. "Mighty?" she asked surprised. Mighty said nothing. He just stared at her. "Mighty…what's going on on Angel Island? Are Knuckles and the Chaotix okay?" Nicole asked. Mighty didn't respond…okay, he did but not with words. He slammed his fists into the ground, and a shockwave ran across the ground, which Nicole dodged by jumping up, two robotic angel-like wings spouting from her back and flying up. "Mighty, what are you doing?" Nicole asked.

Mighty didn't talk as he jumped up higher than you would expect from him, grab Nicole's legs and use his weight to drag her to the ground and toss her into the ground violently, damaging her wings. "Okay, Mighty…I see you're not quite yourself right now. I don't want to hurt you but I'll have to take you down, I can't risk the safety of the people…I just hope I'll be able to snap you out of this." Nicole said. She stored the nanite cylinders in compartments of her legs for the time being.

Mighty charges at her, but Nicole jumps over it and kick him in the back of his head and sent him falling forward. Mighty's shell prevented him from feeling pain, but he still was caught off-guard. Mighty got up however and with a backhand sent Nicole flying right through a building. Luckily her mechanical body was quite durable. Nicole knew even with her robotic body Mighty was physically stronger. However, Mighty was mindless right now and didn't have the same level of training she had. Nicole grabbed the nanite handles and sent a stream of nanites to tie up Mighty, but Mighty broke free, scattering the nanites, before they retracted into the handles. Nicole formed a hammer-like end onto one of the nanite whips, but Mighty curled up and the nanite hammer shattered on his strong shell.

But Nicole got another idea and ordered the scattered nanites to form a ball around the curled up Mighty (though leaving some space to breathe). This worked much better since Mighty's movements were much more restricted this time. However, the nanite ball in which he was in started to shake violently as he then, though after a longer time, busted out of the nanite shell holding him, before Mighty readied himself; he looked ready to charge and with his strength it would be devastating.

Mighty charged with great speed and possibly great strength at Nicole, who prepared herself, sending her nanites in front of her like a massive shield, bracing for impact…Mighty collided and while Nicole's shield remained intact, she found herself pushed back by Mighty's strength. "I'm not going to hold!" she thought.

However, suddenly Mighty stopped all of a sudden. And not just that he stopped his rampage…he looked like he was completely paralyzed. "Huh?" Nicole wondered as she looked at Mighty. Though his eyes still looking dull, he looked like he tried to move but just couldn't.

"Pressure points…were always my specialty!" Cosmo said. The monkey girl moved from behind Mighty, her index and middle fingers outstretched. "Hit them in the right spot and they'll be stuck for a while. Now…you said you knew this guy?" Cosmo asked.

"He is Mighty of the Chaotix, but he appears brainwashed of sorts. Good thing you were around to help." Nicole replied.

"You better get Mighty somewhere where he can't hurt anyone before the effects wear off. Now, I'm going to help my boyfriend out!" Cosmo said as joined back into the fight, while Nicole used her nanites to carry off Mighty safely.

TO BE CONTINUED


	107. Attack on Knothole III

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN: ATTACK ON KNOTHOLE, PART III

"Oh! Run, Muttski's coming for you!" Muttski said as he (once again inexplicably) has changed costumes, this time in that of the Heavy, even donning the Russian accent as he used the equally inexplicably acquired gattling gun to shoot away at the Crystal Golems.

"Hey sweetheart, you're leaving some for me?" Cosmo asked as she jumped into the scene. She hopped on top of a crystal golem, wrapped her legs around its neck and twisted it, tearing it's crystalline head off. She jumped back onto the ground as she knocks away two smaller golems with her fists, as a taller golem approached her. She planted her hands on the ground and used her feet to grab the golem's legs, pulling them to trip him. Then she jumped on top and struck the thing with the same pressure point technique she used on Mighty, but unlike Mighty it made the golem crumble into tiny pieces.

"Muttski likes your moves. Maybe time for monkey to monkey around too!" Muttski then changed his outfit into a Sun-Wokong like outfit, including with a staff which he used to strike at the golems one by one, knocking them down. The staff even seemed to extend in side when it needed to, which made it easier to fight the golems.

Mogul has been looking at the other combatants too…but unlike with Sally, very few impressed him. With the mirror he couldn't clone machines so he couldn't create a clone of Nicole, but he was interested in Muttski's antics. "Interesting…that dog creates outfits and weapons out of thin air…he doesn't alchemize, it's not chaos…it's pure psychic power. It's an Esper…but they were supposed to be extinct. My lucky day, I'm going to have my personal Esper soon!" Mogul said as he chanted another incantation…

Bunnie saw how Sgt. Simian used his crystalline arm to block gunfire from the Knothole Protection Unit, before running up to them and send them flying with his strength. Bunnie grabbed a vial of medicine to suppress her NIDS and injected herself with it. It would allow her to battle at her finest for a while. Luckily she had an extra trick up her sleeve.

Nicole had reverse engineered the Badnik Nanites not only for her personal weapons, but for Bunnie's new suit. Bunnie grabbed out a shield shaped object, placed it on her back and it attached itself to her, as a wave of nanite material wrapped around her, forming a battle suit. "Hey, you big bully. You think you got what it takes to fight me?" Bunnie shouted, drawing his attention.

"I do not fight girls! They're not strong enough to be a match!" Simian taunted.

"Oh ya didn't just say that!" Bunnie said as she activated the boosters in her new suit, shot forward and took Simian by surprise with a powerful punch. "That's what ah call a 'monkey sucker punch'!"

"Insolent wench!" Simian said as he recovered and punched Bunnie with his crystal arm and sent Bunnie flying, but Bunnie recovered quickly and morphed the hands of her nanite suit into guns. She fired two sonic blasts at Simian, which knocked him back. Simian growled in anger as he lifted a chunk of the ground and tossed it at Bunnie, who sported blades on her arm and cut the rock in half, moving up close to Simian.

Simian rushed at Bunnie and morphed his crystal arm into a blade too, clashing with Bunnie's blades. Simian arm wasn't as multifunctional as Bunnie's suit but his natural strength helped making up for that. But Bunnie wouldn't give in. The suit was connected to her mind, so she had to think, and two cannons appeared on her shoulders. As she held Simian's bladed arm down with her own, the blasters hit Simian in the chest, knocking him back. Bunnie then jumped up, delivered a drop kick on Simian and knocked him into the ground, knocking him out and leaving an imprint into the asphalt. "Now ah know why ya don't fight gals. You can't beat 'em."

Predator Hawk swooped over the city, Mello and Charmy flying by his side, ready to strike down on an unfortunate Freedom Fighter. That Freedom Fighter was Amy, who was busy firing her arrows at the Golems. They then simultaneously swooped down towards her. However, in mid-air, a light blue streak rushed by and sent them spiraling through the air.

Of course it was Lily who had flew in to cover for Amy, on her Extreme Gear and her feather-shaped darts in hand. "I don't like cowards who attack people in the back…Patrick? Patrick Hawk?" Lily seemed to recognize Predator Hawk.

"Lily Bluebird? Never thought I'd run into you again. I wouldn't have expected you to last a day alone after you left the armada…but I see you have found a place to stay and make yourself useful. By the way, it's Predator Hawk now." Predator said awkwardly.

"Predator? You couldn't even catch a cold while you were with the Armada, let alone the prey you were assigned to…" Lily replied.

"Well, at least I'm straight!" Predator noted. Lily replied by tossing one of her darts at his head, which exploded in his face and scorched most of the feather of his head. "My hair! Why always the hair?" Predator moaned.

"You should have known better then to take such a low blow on me…I'm no longer the timid girl you once knew. I'm an all new Lily, and I'm one who can kick your feathery butt!" Lily said as pulled out more explosive darts.

Predator gulped… "Hey, beebrains, would you like to help me out on this one?" Predator asked. Mello and Charmy didn't respond. "Guys?"

"Er…oh sorry, lost in thought there for a sec…Charmy, let's help Hawk here out." Mello said, who didn't seem to be with his head in the game for the time.

"Charmy? Charmy Bee of the Chaotix? What are you doing with these guys?" Lily asked.

"I serve a new master!" Charmy replied as she pulled out her electric stinger weapons.

"You sound off…and what's with the glowing green eyes. Either I've been borrowing too much of Muttski's dvd's, or you've become a mindless slave." Lily noted.

"The latter…and believe me, she's less fun this way." Mello said dully, not feeling like fighting right now.

"What are you complaining about? You got your girl, she does everything you say! She's obedient, what more do you want from her?" Predator asked.

"It's not the same. I liked Charmy just because she was Charmy. But she's not herself anymore. I discarded so much for her but I didn't get in return what was so valuable for me! The old Charmy, even when we used to be friends, never put up with any crap I gave her, and that's what I liked about her, she was feisty! But now that's gone!" Mello growled angrily.

"Now, it can't be that bad…" Predator said, a bit taken aback by Mello snapping.

"It is! You don't understand. Why would you? No one ever understood me, only Charmy. And now that's gone forever! You guys only got into this business because of your greedy selfish motives…maybe except for Lightning, but he's practically brain dead too…but all I wanted in life is to get Charmy back. But now that I finally got her, I can't enjoy it." Mello shouted.

"Dude, there are many fish out there in the sea, I'm sure you can find someone else." Predator tried to soothe him, but he didn't exactly choose the right words.

"I don't want anyone else! I regret ever joining the service of that wooly pachyderm in the first place!" Mello shouted.

"Pachyderm? So the mammoth in that distress call is behind it?" Lily wondered.

"Too bad, there's no way back now. Just try to punch something to vent your anger." Predator suggested. Mello then punched Predator in the face. "That's not what I meant…" Predator said before he fainted from the punch, falling from the sky onto an abandoned cabbage cart.

"Charmy, let's stand down, I'm not in the mood to fight…" Mello said.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take orders that go against Master Mogul's wishes. His orders still nullify yours." Charmy responded.

"Then I'm sorry!" Mello said as he grabbed his own electric stinger and zapped Charmy unconscious with it. Holding her unconscious form in his hands sadly he handed her over to Lily.

"You know Charmy right? You are an ally then…can you make sure you can turn her back to normal?" Mello asked.

"Well, we can…we got Chaos adepts and a supercomputer and Power Rings…" Lily said, not knowing what to think of it.

"I'll come quietly, you can lock me up if you'd like, all I want is that you return Charmy back to the way she is." Mello, for the first time, didn't sound confident or smug, but he sounded vulnerable.

"Er…sure. Let's get her somewhere safe." Lily said as she dragged Mello and Charmy off the scene.

Amy continued fighting on the ground. With her archer skills, she masterfully aimed her arrows and pierced them through the heads of the golems, which made their heads shatter, their bodies crack and crumble. "I really want to say something witty right now…but I don't have the imagination Sonic or Muttski has with these sorts of things." Amy noted.

As she was finished trashing some Golems, she was all of a sudden tackled down by someone who flew into her. Amy and her attacker rolled over the ground, but Amy came out on top and pinned him down with her bow. "Okay, I don't like cheap shots…Ray?" Amy was baffled to see the flying squirrel of the Chaotix. "Ray? What has gotten into you?" She didn't get an answer as Ray kicked her off him.

Amy rolled out of the way as Ray grabbed his escrima sticks and tried to clobber her with it. "Okay, I don't know what's your problem, but you need a time out!" Amy said as she loaded some arrows and shot them at Ray, not piercing him, but pinning him to a nearby wall instead. Ray tried to struggle, but the magic arrows Amy always uses held him in place. "I'm sorry, Ray! But if you don't snap out of whatever it is that's wrong with you, you'll have to stay put. We'll let someone pick you up and examine you later!" Amy said to Ray. As she walked away from him, she didn't notice that her reflection disappeared from a nearby window.

Bean, Slicer and Bark were dealing with another group of Golems. Slicer didn't waste time as he rushed at several golems and true to his namesake started slicing around with his blades. The golems stood still for a while after they were slashed before Slicer crossed his blades in a cool pose before the golems fell apart in pieces.

Bark grabbed a bigger golem in his arms and performed a piledriver to smash it into the ground and shatter it, while the impact also sent some surrounding Golems flying across the place. He grabbed two more golems and smashed them into one another, shattering them.

"I'm going for the high score!" Bean said happily before he tossed one of his bombs, which rolled across the ground, right into a group of golems, which blew up and the golems were shattered! "And I scored a turkey!" Bean stated.

"You mean a duck?" the voice came from Flying Frog. "You're a duck, so you should be scoring a duck!" he stated.

"No, that's not what's it was called in the world of bowling!" Bean replied.

"Oh, were you bowling? I thought you were rolling your bomb across the floor and blowing them up!" Bean stated.

"I did, but I made a bowling comparison due to it looking like I was bowling with the bomb! You know, a joke? It's part of my wacky fun persona to make these wise-cracks you see!" Bean explained.

"That's not a joke. This is: 'What fruit has four wheels? A Kum-Quad!' Get it? Kumquat? Quad?" Flying stated.

"Not really a joke, just a funny comparison of sorts…" Bean stated.

"Did Muttski miss something?" It was then that the last of the goofballs entered the scene. "Who's the frog?" Muttski asked.

"I'm Flying!" Flying introduced himself.

"No, Muttski clearly sees you're standing on the ground." Muttski replied.

"No, he means his name is Flying, Flying Frog!" Bean explained.

"Frogs don't fly, Muttski doesn't understand!" Muttski replied.

"Who is this Muttski?" Flying asked.

"Muttski is Muttski!" Muttski stated.

"I can tell but who is this Muttski?" Flying asked again.

"No, he means his name is Muttski!" Bean explained.

"Why doesn't he say so?" Flying asked.

"He speaks in third person!" Bean explained again.

"But there is only one of him!" Flying noted.

"That's what I said!" Bean said.

"Said what?" Flying asked.

"That there is one of him?" Bean replied.

"One of who?" Muttski asked.

"You!" Bean stated.

"You who?" Muttski asked.

"Hello, I'm Flying Frog!" Flying said, thinking Muttski greeted him.

"But Frog is not flying, Frog is standing here…" Muttski stated.

"Oh my gosh, you're not going to start over again, are you? Will you three idiots please shut up! The stupidness is hurting me!" Predator had crawled out of the cabbage cart he had fallen into. If his head had any feathers left, he would have pulled them out in frustration.

But then Predator Hawk had drawn Slicer's attention, who rushed at him, delivered one good smack and sent Predator flying in a wall, knocking him out again. Bark then showed up and bopped Flying on the head, who had a silly grin on his face before he fainted too.

"The frog guy's out!" Muttski stated.

"Flying!" Bean corrected him.

"Who's Flying?" Muttski asked.

"The frog!" Bean noted.

"No, the frog isn't flying, his laying down…" Muttski stated.

Bark slapped his forehead as Slicer shook his head.

O'Nux looked around, and saw that except for the Golems, he was the only one left standing of Mogul's minions. He found himself confronted with some security forces, which he could handle easily. But that changes when he was confronted by the remaining two Freedom Fighters: Rotor and Dulcy. "Who are you? You can't be Knuckles, can you? We already noticed doppelgangers of Sonic and Tails."

"As much as I hate to tell you, yes, I'm not the real deal! So what, what are you going to do about it, tubby?" O'Nux said, that last bit like he really didn't like to say so.

"Why the long face? Don't like the fact you're just a copy of the original?" Dulcy asked, aiming her gauntlet, fire starting to form at the palm of her hand.

"You're one to speak, clone girl…" O'Nux stated.

"You know what differs you from me? I made a name for myself, I did something better than just being a puppet, I cut my strings. I'm my own person now, while you…you won't be!" Dulcy shot back. She fired a fireball from her hands, but O'Nux agilely jumped up and landed on top of the roof of a nearby building.

"You're right, you made a name for yourself. So much that your original self paled…she got roboticized, didn't she? The remains were found at a junkyard in Eurish…she got her life violently taken away from her while you were living the life…you think that's fair?" O'Nux asked.

Dulcy flew up with her gauntlet powers and landed next to him. Rotor just used special pellets he just needed to step on to jump really high to where he was too. "I met the real me…she held no resent, she wasn't afraid…she was okay with me. But I don't think the real Knuckles would be okay with you. You're a twisted version of him. I…I am a copy, I've come to terms with it, but I do something good with my life." Dulcy said as she shot an ice beam at him.

O'Nux hand glowed green as he backhanded the ice shot, creating an effect of shattering ice before rushing at her and punching her to the ground. "Good…evil…what does it matter to me? Your original self was a nobody, but I'm supposed to live in the shadow of a legendary guardian. But no more…I'll do everything to be what the Guardian is not, I'll be the Anti-Avatar…I'll break away from Mogul one day and show the world."

"Dream on!" Rotor said as he tried to punch O'Nux, who caught his hands. O'Nux was way stronger despite Rotor's seemingly bigger bulk. But Rotor always had a few tricks. His gauntlets were laced with an explosive charge and detonated it. The gauntlets were build so his hands would be spared, but the injuries on O'Nux' hands were real. They didn't go deep, but his gloves were scorched off and he had burn wounds on his hands.

"Argh!" O'Nux growled. "I won't…go down like this!" O'Nux said as he rammed Rotor with his shoulder and pinned Rotor in a wall. "What's that? Did that hurt your back? Well…since you mutilated my hands I should return the favor." O'Nux was met with a shot in the back, courtesy of Dulcy. "Insolent child." O'Nux said as he pounced at her and held her in an armlock behind her back, preventing her from properly using her gauntlet. But there was one thing that was free…her tail, which she used to trip him. Then she rolled him on his back and pinned his arms behind him. "Argh! Careful, those hands still hurt!"

"Shut up!" Rotor said as he literally sat down on top of O'Nux, hoping his weight would help pin down O'Nux…however that didn't help as O'Nux rose up and knocked Rotor off.

"You really are insolent! You are spoiled, with the power you've been given and the lives you led while I had no life to remember and created as a shadow…" O'Nux growled as he grabbed Dulcy's tail and threw her into Rotor.

The two got up and confronted him again. "As sad as your existence may be…you expect sympathy from us after you come crashing down in our city and attack our people? Think again!" Dulcy said as she charged up a huge stream of flames and shot them at O'Nux. O'Nux jumped aside to dodge. Rotor pulled out a pellet and threw it where O'Nux landed, and it exploded in some kind of foam which expanded and hardened quickly. O'Nux became trapped. "No where left to run, fake-chidna!" Dulcy said.

"Gloat all you want for now, but the crystal army was just a warm-up…You'll cry really big tears when my master comes down for you…" O'Nux mocked.

Mogul has watched the entire fight from above. He saw how most of his minions were no match for the Freedom Fighters and his brainwashed minions didn't do much better either. "I guess if you have something done right, you have to do it yourself. I wanted to wait a bit more and give them some false hope first, but with the cretins I have to work with…oh well, it has been a while since I had a good workout." Mogul said as he created several platforms of chaos energy, which started to form from the island down to Knothole. He stepped down, and started to walk down the platforms just like they were stairways…

TO BE CONTINUED


	108. Meet the clones

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT: BOW BEFORE THE MASTER

The huge ass rumble in Knothole had been continuing, the golems were largely reduced to crystal shards and most of the bounty hunters were captured or disabled. The only one of the bad guys who was still putting up a fight was Miles, and he had been holding his own against his counterpart rather well.

Miles swung down his tails down on Tails, who blocked with his own, both clashing with their sharpened appendages like swords. Tails' fist connected with Miles cheek, but in return he was kneed by Miles in the stomach. Miles grabbed Tails chest fur as Tails grabbed the collar of his suit as the two rolled over the ground struggling. Tails kicked Miles of him. Miles wanted to prepare for another attack but found himself a gun to his head.

"Don't move…" Tori said as she aimed her blaster at him. Miles looked around and saw several other Freedom Fighters started to surround him.

"Your allies have been subdued and taken into custody. You're alone now, I suggest you surrender, cause I believe even you can't handle all the Freedom Fighters at once." Tails said.

Miles knew they were right. He admitted to himself he was smart and skilled, but even he could be outnumbered. Miles smirked as he said: "Indeed…I am outnumbered. Nothing left I can do. But you think it's over because you have captured my compatriots? Even if you bested me, you won't be able to best…him!" Miles replied as he pointed upwards.

Mogul descended from the sky, the platforms of green energy extending all the way to the ground, as he walked down them like a staircase, finally reaching ground level as he stood on solid ground. He just stood there for a good few minutes, staring intensely at the heroes.

"And…who is he supposed to be? An elephant with lycanthropy?" Sonic asked.

"I would introduce myself, but there is one of you who would recognize me for what I am…am I right, wizard?" Mogul stated as he pointed at Amadeus.

Amadeus groaned as he explained: "His name is Mammoth Mogul…"

"Mogul? DC is so going to sue that guy!" Sonic stated.

"You are starting to annoy me, blue blur." Mogul groaned.

"I have that effect on people…excuse me, Mr. Prower, continue." Sonic said.

Merlin continued his explanation: "He is Mammoth Mogul, formerly one of the Walkers before their rise in godhood, instead he used his Chaos powers to try to conquer the world. He was supposed to be sealed away…"

"You thought a mere seal could hold me? I was old when the art of the Chaos force was young, I've studied it all my life, it has made me all-mighty, immortal…" Mogul ranted.

"Okay, now you rip off Vandal Savage, DC is going to sue you bigtime!" Sonic interrupted.

"Kids nowadays…no respect for their elders…" Mogul sighed. "But nonetheless I compliment you for being able to fend off my army of golems and subduing my bounty hunters…thought in hindsight they were useless to me as minions. Their own selfish motives prevented them from thinking tactically and working together the way you are. And my copies of the Trinity are…lackluster at best. In the case of the echidna and the hedgehog that is. The kitsune is the only one who came close to besting his counterpart, even if he doesn't have all the Chaos powers."

Miles growled. He was insulted by Mogul but at the same time complimented, but he didn't like the tone he was given.

"You want to keep those worthless fools in custody? Go ahead, I no longer have any use of them. They don't deserve a spot in my world. I have seen that you are far superior, so I think you are the perfect template for my future minions." Mogul said as he pulled out the magic mirror used to create Miles and O'Nux and give Scourge his physical form. The Mirror glowed as Mogul chanted…

Out of the mirror came several orbs of light, which then soon started to take shape. They turned into replica's of Sally, Rotor, Amy, Antoine, Bunnie and Muttski. "I only wanted to duplicate the archer and the squirrel at first, but then I got my eye on the Esper…though he wouldn't stay still and I accidentally cloned a few too many, but nothing bad. Swordsmen, bruisers and demolitions are common to get by, but they are a nice addition. However, such warrior spirit, extreme accuracy and Esper powers are more unique." Mogul explained.

"Esper? Who are you talking about? And what the heck is an Esper?" Tails asked.

"Even you don't know what an Esper is? But of course…Espers are rare, even more so then the Chaos Adepts, very few know of their existence. Have you ever wondered how your canine friend is able to summon disguises and weapons out of thin air?" Mogul asked.

"We always thought he had a pocketspace or something…and we had more important things on our mind then to wonder. Muttski always has been eccentric…In fact he doesn't even seem to realize himself how he does what he does." Tails said.

"Your friend is an Esper, a psychic! The suits and weapons are constructs created through psychic shielding, they may not be real, but the damage they do is real. His powers are unique, even amongst Espers…so how could I pass up that opportunity?" Mogul said as he pets Muttski's clone.

Muttski's clone appeared identical, but his eyes were bloodshot and his teeth sharp…he looked really psycho and all he did was growl. "Muttski thinks Muttski is still more handsome!" Muttski noted upon seeing his clone.

Sally looked confused at her copy. "This feels bizarre…" she thought to herself. Her counterpart had longer and messier hair and a menacing look in her eyes but still looked a lot like herself.

"What are you staring at, sugar queen? Never seen yourself before?" she bit at Sally.


	109. Mogul Games

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND NINE: MOGUL GAMES

Sonic had rushed off after Mighty, who under Mogul's control was going to run straight into Robotnik territory without defending himself, which means he could easily be bombed or shot. Mighty was quite fast, but not as fast as Sonic, so the blue hedgehog could catch up quickly. Sonic jumped up and did a homing attack, but bounced of Mighty's shell. "Okay, the direct approach is not working out." Sonic said. He rushed and cut off Mighty standing in front of him. "Stop it right there!" Mighty just backhanded Sonic and sent him flying, before continuing. "Get back here!"

Sonic grabbed Mighty from behind. Mighty just kept on going so he dragged Sonic along. Sonic revved up and tried to pull Mighty in the opposite direction with his superspeed, but only succeeded in slowing Mighty down. "This is for your own good!" Sonic growled, as he felt his feet overheat. Before he let go and Mighty continued.

"Don't make me do this!" Sonic said as he readied himself to spin-dash. Mighty turned back however, and stomped the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Sonic of-course, in the direction of a tree…however, Sonic revved up the tree, shot in the air and homed in on Mighty's head and knocked him back. Mighty was dazed and Sonic turned around for a second wind.

Though Mighty had recovered quickly, pulled a tree from the ground and tossed it at Sonic, who used his spines to slice it in half. "How do you stop someone like Mighty…without getting the wind knocked out of me?" Sonic wondered. "Wind knocked out…of me!" Sonic had the solution for the dilemma.

He began running real quickly around Mighty, creating a tornado. Mighty grabbed the ground, his strength preventing Sonic from lifting him of the ground, but that wasn't the goal Sonic was going for. He used this tornado to cut off Mighty's breath, who slowly started to gag and eventually passed out because of it. He was still alive fortunately, just unconscious. "Now to get you back, I think we have something that might break that spell."

Tails was shooting upwards, slowly catching up to Ray, who also got brainwashed by Mogul. He would fly up until the thin air would get to him and make him faint and crash. Tails was now on equal height with Ray. He grabbed Ray and tried to drag him closer to the ground. But the squirrel twitched and squirmed. "Stop that, Ray, I'm trying to save your life here!" Too bad Ray didn't seem to care, not that he could in his current predicament. He broke loose and bumped Tails on the head before flying back up.

Tails grabbed his tail and dragged him down and pulled him in a headlock. Ray kept squirming as Tails tried not to hurt or choke him. But the feeling wasn't mutual as Ray bit him, making him let go. Tails rubbed his arm as he saw Ray try to fly off. Tails the flew up, reached out his namesakes and grabbed Ray by the ankles with them…until he realized that he was now flightless and he was plummeting to the ground with his captive. "Not my brightest idea!" Tails shouted as he plummeted down.

Tails then manage to wrestle himself onto Ray's back, holding him in his namesakes, the strongest parts of his body which he can't break from, and biting it won't help since Tails can alter the density of them. He then rode Tails like it would a flying horse and guided Ray towards the ground. "Get along little doggy! I always wanted to say that…I think I picked that up from Bunnie."

Lily rode on her hoverboard, right behind Charmy who was already nearing the coastline, and would fly in the open sea to electrocute herself. "Not on my watch, honeybee!" Lily said as she came up to Charmy and grabbed her from behind. But Charmy had a free arm and tried lashing with the electric stingers on her gloves. Lily let go to avoid being shocked. "Better take those out first." Lily thought as she grabbed a dart and tossed it at the stinger, disabling it.

But Charmy pulled out the other and tried stabbing Lily with it. "Whoa, careful with that, you can hurt someone with that. You are zombified now yes, but the real Charmy would care for that." Lily noted as she grabbed Charmy's arm and deconnected a few wires, disabling the stinger. "Now try to jab me again!" she dared.

However, Charmy thrust her abdomen forward and prepared her natural stinger. Unlike others, her stinger was indestructible and she wouldn't die if she used it. "Me and my big beak!" Lily noted as she moved out of the way before she would be stung. Charmy readied herself again and lunged forward.

Lily stood still, ready to concentrate. Charmy lunged forward. Lily jumped up at the last second, so Charmy was beneath her, above her board and then landed on Charmy and slammed her into the board, knocking her out. "That's hurting me more then you…matter of speech. Now to get you back." Lily said as she rushed off with Charmy in custody.

Meanwhile, Mogul had remained behind with his new group of Freedom Fighter clones to attack Knothole. Most of the heroes were fighting severl Crystal Golems, which Mogul had the power to repair at will, but many were locked in actual combat with their counterparts (except Miles cause Tails was busy trying to save Ray).

Sally rushed at Ally, Sally's metal bo staff clashing with the one Ally had, which was made out of the same crystal the golems and Buns' armor was made from. Both staffs clashed, Sally trying an overhead swipe, while Ally blocked with her staff. She tries to jab with her staff, but Sally blocked. Both staffs were locked. Sally pulled out her sword from behind her back, while Ally created a crystal sword and both blades clashed as well. Both of them broke apart and attached their blades to their staffs, turning them to scythe mode.

"You're quite good." Sally noted.

"I'm modeled after you." Ally noted.

Both girls rushed at each other and swiped with their scythe, the blade ends hooking into each other, and the fighting squirrel girls tried dragging one another down to the ground, or pull one another's scythe away. They put all their force behind it as suddenly their scythes slipped from their fingers and flinged through the air.

Scourge had woken up from the beating from the girls he received earlier, only for him to see Ally's scythe flying at him. He screamed as a little girl, as he was too shocked to move his dumb ass out of the way, but the scythe landed with its blade embedding in the ground between his legs, mere millimeters away from his 'lil Scourge'. Scourge fainted in shock. The other scythe landed right into the head of a crystal golem, cleaving it clean in two.

Separated from their weapons, the girls got physical…combat! Physical combat! Sally launched a kick, Ally did the same, the soles of their boots colliding. They both set off from the ground, jump in the air, flipped and kicked simultaneously again, bouncing of one another, landing on their feet before rushing back to one another.

Sally launched a punch, which Ally blocked, as she launched a punch on her own, which Sally blocked too. They both tried kneeing one another, but their knees collide, hurting themselves. They tried repeatedly punching, but manage to match each other move by move. "This is taking forever!" Ally said as she got bored as she pulled a crystal from her pocket.

"Are you going to whack me with that?" Sally asked confused.

"Sort off!" Alicia said as she flicked her wrist as the crystal glowed and a string of green light came from it, and lashed Sally, leaving a gash on her arm. It was an energy whip. "Time to get kinky…" she said as she lashed again at Sally, who this time rolled out of the way. But Ally lashed again, grabbed her leg with her whip, and with surprising strength pulled it and sent Sally flying in the air and tossed her into a wall.

"Can deliver hits, but you can't take them really well, don't you?" Ally said as she moved closer. "You know, I was created with all the knowledge I needed to defeat you, with the weapons; I only exist for an hour and I knew that I had this whip ready for emergencies. If you are created to win, there is no way around it." Ally mocked. She moved dangerously close to Sally.

"You forget one thing…" Sally said weakly. "You were created to win…but I…am required to win!" Sally said as she grabbed a piece of nearby rubble in her hand, and swiftly bashed Ally on the head with it, dazing her, before Sally kicked the crystal handle of the whip out of her hand and then punched her hard. "…to make sure my people don't become slaves to Mogul, just like you are."

"I'm no slave!" Ally muttered.

"You have a personality, but are forced to serve one Mobian. You are a slave." Sally noted.

"Shut up!" Ally said as she rushed at Sally and tackled her to the ground.

Miles found himself double-teamed by Nicole and Tori. Miles chuckled. "Oh, how drôle. You throw all your smartest members at me and hope you can outwit me. Well, amuse me! Show me if you can!" Miles said as he taunted the heroes.

"Don't let him get to you. We can take him." Nicole said. Though she didn't sound sure of herself. Miles just stood there.

"Screw it, let's blast him!" Tori said as she morphed her arms into guns and started firing away at the start, of course Miles being fast enough to dodge the shots by flying up quickly. "Cool! Target practice! Take that!" Tori said as she continued firing.

"Aren't you too eager to shoot something in the likeness of your creator?" Miles asked casually.

"I don't care if you looked like the President of the UF, you're the bad guy, no excuses!" Tori said as she continued trying to blast Miles, however Miles was too fast to hit.

"Wise words, but if my counterpart can create you, I can unmake you!" Miles said as he rushed towards Tori, while expertly dodging her blasts. He got close enough to briefly touch her, but Tori was ready to aim her blasters again and moved out of the way in time to dodge that too. Miles moved some distance away, holding a single bolt. "Is this important?" he asked.

Tori aimed her guns again, but one of her arms falls off. "Oh slag!" she muttered.

Miles smiled smugly until he was suddenly trapped by something liquid and metallic. Nicole's nanites. "Don't forget about me!" she said to him.

Miles remained calm however. "Very good. But you think that these micro-bots can hold me?" Miles said as something unexpected happened: the nanites turned to crystal and shattered. "You think that I wouldn't have picked up a few tricks from Mogul?" Miles taunted.

"Not good…" Tori muttered.

"Indeed, because I can do much more then that!" Miles said as he snapped his fingers and something crystalline formed around Tori and Nicole's feet and crawled up. Tori instinctively grabbed her leg to try and pull it loose, but the substance crawled up her arms as well.

"No good being a machine, is it? At least the two of you had an image of your own, but alas, nothing to compare to my power." Miles said.

"Think again!" Tori said as suddenly she glowed with a yellowish glow and broke free from the crystal. She then aimed her blaster and used it to shoot the crystal that trapped Nicole, releasing her as well. Miles looked on in mild surprise. "Power Ring Energy. Keeps me going. Now, where were we…oh yeah, I was about to turn you into Swiss cheese!"

"Think again!" Miles said as he suddenly moved at blinding speed, came to halt right before Tori, and dug his hand into her chest and ripped out her Power Ring Core. "Thanks for the gift." He said. Tori's optics just flashed before they dimmed down and Tori fell over.

"Tori!" Nicole screamed. She became furious as she readied her nanite whips again. She played it smarter this time. She send out smaller waves of nanites each time. Miles could crystallize a few waves, but couldn't keep his attention to all of them at the same time. Several tried to wrap around the hand which held the power Ring, binding it in a nanite cocoon.

"I see what you want to do, you want me to force to use the Power Ring now, so you can get a hit on me. But ask yourself this. If I do use it to break free, who's going to save you!"

"Psyche!" Tori said as she suddenly jerked up and shot Miles in the face, sending him flying, making him drop the Power Ring and knocking him down. "Two words: Backup generator!" Tori said as she took her Power Ring back and inserted it back into her chest. Nicole's nanites flew towards her and formed into a new chest plate for Tori.

A dazed Miles lay on the ground as Tori approached him. "And oh yeah…what you just did…I feel violated. So I'm pissed. This will hurt you more than me. Sweet dreams!" Tori said as she kicked Miles' face, knocking him out. "Now, Nicole, I hope you can figure something out that can contain him without him breaking free."

"I got just the thing." Nicole launched beam at Miles, which engulfed him in a white energy field. "Zero-point energy. I only had one shot, so I had to make it count. There's nothing to absorb and there is nothing to crystallize. It will hold him long enough for us to make a fitting prison for him."

Antoine was locked in a fight with his as of yet unnamed copy. Both had swords ready. Antoine's was made of metal, but the clone's was made of the durable crystal. Though the two blades seemed both just as durable as they clashed, one trying to parry one another. Antoine tries a low swipe, but was blocked by the crystal sword. The clone tried a swipe from the sides, but Antoine moved out of the way.

Antoine tried to stab his clone, but it blocked with his sword, the durable crystal withstanding the assault. The clone jumped up and lashed heavily with his sword, Antoine attempting to block, but his blade shattered against the much more durable crystal. "Merde! That was mon sabre favorite!" Antoine cursed.

He had to leap aside to dodge the clone's next swipe. His sword was unscratched by Antoine's assault, and Antoine's sword was now merely a handle with a shattered short blade. Though there were still some pointy bits on it. The clone moved in and swiped, but Antoine held out the remains of his blade and caught the crystal sword in between a crack of the remains of his blade. He then kicked his counterpart's hand and the sword was knocked up and caught by Antoine. Antoine threw the shattered remains of his blade aside and held the tip of his blade to his clone's throat. "Touché!"

Scourge woke up again. He still saw the scythe lying in front of him. He then saw Antoine and his clone dueling. He looked at the scythe and had a smirk on his face. "If I can't beat my counterpart, I'll beat one of his friends." He thought as he picked up the scythe and snuck closer to Antoine, at the point where he had his counterpart on the ropes.

He raised the scythe…but then something bumped into him, he slipped, and the noise betrayed him. Antoine moved aside in time, but the clone wasn't so lucky as Scourge struck the wrong target. The clone didn't get cleaved, but the damage is done as he held one hand over the bloody left part of his face. "Mon oeuil!" the clone whined.

"Whoops…" Scourge noted. He dropped the scythe and scratched the back of his head. "Well…at least we can tell you two apart now!" he said awkwardly. Antoine's clone just groaned and punched Scourge in the face. As Scourge covered his face in pain, Antoine, from behind him, knocked him out by hitting him on the back with the handle of the crystal blade.

The two that had bumped into Scourge while fighting were Muttski and his counterpart Percy. Both dogs were fighting using pop-culture at their finest. Muttski morphed into a Batman costume, Percy in an Owlman costume, both launching the Batarangs and Owlarangs, which collided in mid-air and cancelled one another out. Muttski then morphed into a Link outfit, but Percy turned into a black version of said outfit, as they both pulled Master Swords and started to clash. "Muttski feels like he's fighting his own shadow."

Muttski morphed his costume into the Kamen Rider Outfit, while Percy did the same, morphing in a Dark Rider outfit. Both jumped in the air, their Rider kicks colliding but they bounced of each other. "Stop copying Muttski!" Muttski said frustrated. Percy just growled and drooled. "Muttski believes something went wrong with other Muttski upon creation…"

Both Amy's were locked into a combat of bow and arrow. Both fired their arrows with great accuracy. Both manage to snatch one another's arrows out of the air with their hands however. Both took cover behind some rubble. They both at the same time jumped out, and held their bows in an odd angle and fired an arrow each. Both the arrows had a bent path so they wouldn't go in a direct line towards their foe, but the arrows collided in mid-air anyways and bounced of one another.

Deciding they couldn't outshoot one another, they went in for close combat and tried to punch one another, only for their fists to collide, causing them to hold their hands in pain. They stared intensely at one another…until Mercy slapped Amy. "Did you just slap me?" she asked as she slapped Mercy in return.

"Ouch!" Mercy moaned as she slapped back, and Amy slapped back, and this went on for a while until Amy was tired and clawed at Mercy, who clawed back and…it ended with the two fighting in a cartoonish dust cloud, you could swear you even could hear cat sounds.

Boomer and Rotor had their hands locked and tried to push one another back. Both were just as strong so they couldn't. Rotor headbutts his counterpart, but then Boomer retaliated with a strong punch to the face. However, Boomer didn't have bombs like Rotor, because Mogul can't copy machines. Rotor pulled out a bomb and tossed it away, Boomer jumping out of the way. However Boomer had his own trick. His hands glowed as green circles formed around them and then he reached them out, sending out a sonic wave that knocked Rotor back.

"You think Mogul wouldn't have something to make up for the fact he can't copy bombs? He gave me something that makes explosives obsolete for me! You can't toss another one of those firecrackers, I can take them out from a distance." Boomer mocked.

"Then I'll just cave your face in!" Rotor said as he packed his dynamite gauntlet, Boomer charging up another sonic boom in his hand, as the both hands collided, creating a huge explosion that knocked both back. Rotor miraculously had only minor injuries, but Boomer's right eye was a bloody mess and his left tusk's tip had broken off. "I'll never do that again!" Rotor noted.

Bunnie, in her nanite suit and her double Buns, in the crystal armor were locked in a brawl. Bunnie morphed her arms into guns and fired away at Buns, who used the crystal guards on her arms to block and deflect the blast. Buns sported crystal spikes on her arm guards, which fired as projectiles, new crystal spikes growing on every time it was fired. Bunnie created a shield in front of her to block the storm of crystal shards.

Bunnie's fists enlarged, as so did Buns' as they rushed at one another and their fists collided, creating a small shockwave around them. Bunnie got the first few hits in, but Buns recovered and pummeled Bunnie in return. Both launched a punch simultaneously as they both hit each other's face at the same time. Both were knocked back.

Bunnie prepared herself for another attack, as she suddenly felt weak and collapsed on the ground. "Not now…" she thought. The serum was wearing off. She tried to quickly grab a vial of serum, but Buns knocked it out of her hands.

"Oh no you won't, Bunnie-gal! A shame you don't have a permanent disease-blocker, instead relyin' on that serum." Buns noted. But Bunnie wasn't dumb and remembered Buns mentioning the crystal on her collarbone was the source of her strength. Bunnie collected her remaining strength and an off-guard caught Buns had to see how the crystal on her collarbone was punched by Bunnie and shattered.

"No!" Buns said in panic. Bunnie used the moment of distraction to crawl towards the vial of serum and inject it. She slowly regained health again. "You know what you've done?" Buns said angry. Bunnie got up, seeing her doppelganger rush at her, but moving out of the way in time. Buns couldn't stop in time, and instead hit another target.

Scourge had woken up yet again…he had a nasty habit of being knocked out a lot today. As he got up again, the first thing he saw was Buns, missing Bunnie and instead heading for him. "I hate my life!" Buns' punch connected with him as he was sent flying.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Knothole, the rest of the baddies were imprisoned. "I can't believe Mogul left us out to rot…we never should have trusted that overgrown throw rug to begin with!" Nack mumbled.

"I can't believe that as soon as I've set foot in this place I was dogpiled again. I didn't even get to fight one of the Freedom Fighters." Dragon whined.

"So, this is it, we're stuck here, and nobody's going to help us get away. It's not like a solution is going to come flying in!" Predator moaned.

At that point, the wall of the prison was shattered as Scourge has been sent flying through it. Luckily (for him at least) as a chaos adept he could survive the impact, but he was dazed. It left a hole in the wall. "Jailbreak!" Nack said as the Destructix, minus the mindless Lightning and Mello, who had turned himself in, remained behind. The Destructix however, were so eager to escape they literally ran over Scourge. Scourge lay there, battered, hurt and with footprints over his body.

"I sometimes hate being the bad guy!" he moaned.

Mogul found himself eye to eye with Merlin. "So…the pawn of the Walkers decides to face me. You think that you have the skills to go toe to toe with thousands of years of experience?" Mogul asked him.

"I do…because I'm not alone!" Merlin said as he was joined by Amadeus and Rosemary, both their katana's ready.

"I get the chance to wipe out the entire family at once…how delightful!" Mogul said darkly.

TO BE CONTINUED


	110. Magic Clash

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TEN: MAGIC CLASH

Merlin was ready to face off against Mammoth Mogul. Merlin's brother and sister-in-law stood beside him. Mogul stood there as if he looked bored. He was pretty confident in himself. Mogul just slightly tapped his cane on the ground as tendrils of earth shot up from the ground and lunged at the three foxes. "Etaropave!" Merlin shouted and the tendrils lunging at him turned to dust. Rosemary and Amadeus rushed at Mogul with their katana blades.

Mogul waved his hand and a strong gust of wind appeared, nearly blowing them back, but they gathered all their strength and pushed through the wind. Mogul snapped his fingers as balls of fire rained from the sky, as the foxes were forced to let the wind take them so they could dodge the fireballs. "Sseldniw!" Merlin shouted as the wind died down. Rosemary and Amadeus could continue their assault.

Mogul pointed at a nearby water fountain and twirled his finger, the water from the fountain rising up and as a controlled tidal wave rush over to the foxes. "Ezeerf!" Merlin froze the water. He then shattered the ice and used his magic to hurl the icy spikes at Mogul. Mogul raised his can and a barrier erected to protect him.

Rosemary slashed with her katana, breaking the barrier like glass as Amadeus rushed at Mogul and slashed his face with his sword. "You're not the only one with magic." Amadeus gestured to the kanji engraved in his blade.

"These swords can break mystical barriers…but they can't break me!" Mogul's wounds healed rapidly. "If this is all you can do…I haven't even used the Emerald's power yet. But I'll give you a chance to prove you worthy. Continue…" Mogul said calmly.

"Gninthgil!" Merlin said as bolts of lightning came from the sky as Mogul raised his can, absorbed the lightning in it and then planted his cane into the ground, redirecting the lighting in it. Rosemary and Amadeus swiped with their katanas but Mogul swiftly blocked with his cane before summoning another gust of wind to blow them back. Mogul inhaled deeply before he shot a stream of flame from his trunk, which the foxes dodged by rolling to the side.

As soon as Rosemary got back on her feet she threw several shuriken. Normally Mogul would block or destroy them, but Rosemary had another trick. "Kitsune no jutsu…Hikari!" a bright flash of light came from Rosemary's sword as Mogul was blinded and the shuriken embedded themselves in his trunk. Amadeus moved forwards as he slashed at Mogul's gut several times, the behemoth screaming in pain.

"Hciwdnas!" Merlin chanted as two slabs of earth rose from Mogul's side and slammed together, with the mammoth in between. However, the slabs started to crack, Mogul breaking free, pulling the shuriken from his trunk and his wounds started to heal rapidly. His shirt was still torn so he tore it off.

"Not bad, Walker pawn, but you still have to do better." Mogul said. Mogul raised his cane again, this time, a swirl of the four elements rose up in the sky, and then shot down towards them.

Merlin gathered his strength, creates an orb of magic in his hands and shot it upwards at the elemental vortex, the two clashing and creating sparks like a drill on an impenetrable plate. Both spells dispersed. Merlin panted after the intensity of that spell. "Getting old, Merlin? As you see I aged better then you…" Mogul taunted.

"I'm not that old yet, Mogul!" Merlin said as he raised his arms again. "Thgil fo sniahc!" Merlin conjured chains out of light energy which wrapped up Mogul, and then embedded themselves into the ground, preventing movement. Mogul tried to move but Merlin flicked his hand and a spell knocked Mogul's cane out of his hand. "Gninthgil!" Merlin said as he summoned more lightning. The Lightning travelled across the chains and towards Mogul's body, hurting him. "Gninthgil!" Merlin then kept zapping him and zapping him.

"Enough!" Mogul became engulfed in a fiery aura, breaking the chains and then Mogul created his very own lightning from his tusks and zapped Merlin in return. Merlin was pushed back and knocked on the floor. "You thought your parlor trick could defeat me?"

"No, just distract you!" Merlin said smiling as Rosemary and Amadeus jumped from behind Mogul and embedded their katana's in his back. Mogul roared in pain as he swats the Prowers away with his hand, but the swords were still stuck. The kanji on the blades glowed, and it seemed to hurt Mogul more.

"Well played, I perhaps might need to use a little Emerald power after all…" Mogul said as his eyes started to glow…

On Angel Island, the echidna's were under house arrest, the golems standing guard at their doors. The Chaotix and Knuckles' family were locked in special cells, the bars crystallized so even Knuckles couldn't break them. That didn't prevent him from trying. "Urgh!" Knuckles roared as he pulled at the bars.

"It's no use sonny, that is powerful chaos magic. Brute force won't help at all." Athair noted.

"Well, we can't just sit here doing nothing. We need to figure something out to get our island back. And if they go after Knothole next…" Knuckles moaned.

"It's not going to work from the inside." Locke stated.

"Then you might need a little outside help!" a familiar voice said. The remaining Chaotix and the Knuckles family were happy to see Mighty, Ray and Charmy in front of them.

"Guys? Is it really you? Are you not mindless zombies anymore?" Vector asked happily.

"Yup! Sonic and his friends saved us, and used Power Rings to break the mind control. Now, let's get you out of here!" Mighty said as he passed a Power Ring to Knuckles.

Knuckes instantly felt himself overflowing with power as he then tugged at the crystal bars again and this time shattered them, creating an opening. "That's better. Now…we need to make sure Mogul is cut off from the Emerald's power, that should give the others an edge. We need to get to the Emerald chamber."

"We'll go with you. Charmy, you can take Lara, To'od and Mace somewhere safe while we help my son?" Locke said.

"Count on us!" Charmy said as she guided Knuckles' mom and siblings away, while the remaining Chaotix followed Knuckles, Locke and Athair.

They knew their way to the Emerald Chamber, there were golems guarding it, who were quickly dispatched, or they could sneak by. There was a forcefield blocking them, but still having Power Ring energy left, Knuckles tore through it with the claws. When they got to the Emerald, they had to figure out what to do. "So…you think that Mogul placed any other hex on it?" Knuckles wondered.

"Possibly…we don't know what kind and how strong it is. It might take our combined efforts to break it." Locke noted. They then saw how the Master Emerald glowed. "Oh no, he's tapping into its power…"

"Only for a small amount for now…but if he plans to access his own Super Form…we must somehow break the flow of Chaos Energy…Knuckles, Locke, we need to break the spell together. The Chaotix will have to cover us while we do it!" Athair noted.

"You can count on us, old man!" Vector saluted.

"Isn't that going to be dangerous?" Julie-Su asked worried.

"I'll be fair, it's going to hurt us as hell, but if we don't get the Emerald isolated from Mogul, the entire world is doomed. We'll have no other choice." Knuckles stated. He and his father and great-grandfather took on a triangular position around the Emerald… "Mogul doesn't use too much of the Emerald's power yet, we can break the spell more easily this way…"

As the three took place around the Emerald, the Emerald crackled with some kind of black lightning, which zapped the three of them. Their faces showed they were in pain, but they didn't cry out, they weathered the storm as they tried to break it.

"Please be okay…" Julie-Su whispered.

Mogul had tapped into enough Emerald power to eject the blades from his body and heal his injuries from the swords. "Now, where were we?" Mogul said as he then raised his hands and created his own magical chains, only his were dark purple and tied up the Prowers and started squeezing them. They cried out in pain. "He-he…pathetic!" Mogul muttered, until suddenly someone tossed something at him, and something got stuck in his shoulder. It was one of the Prowers' katana's. Mogul screeched in pain as he let the Prowers go. This time he could reach the blade and pull it out. He then looked on to whom had tossed the blade.

Ellen stood there, holding the other sword in front of her, defiantly. "You don't lay a hand on them!" she had no combat experience but she hoped she could at least bluff a little.

Mogul sighed as he rolled his eyes. He flicked his wrist and the blade flew out of her hand. "I have no business with you, now scram!" Mogul said as he used a gust of wind to blow her away.

"Leave her alone!" Merlin said as he shot a big stream of fire out of his hands and used it to blast back Mogul.

"Oh…old coot in love…how disgusting! But I'm tired of playing around…" Mogul said as he wanted to raise his hands for another spell, as suddenly two other blurs, one blue and one yellow passed by, and Mogul had two slashes across his body. They healed soon after, but he was still mad.

"Hey, Vandal Mongol or whatever your name is…try playing fair for a change! You don't want to go down as a coward, don't you?" Sonic said, taunting him, holding Amadeus' sword.

"You managed to recapture your friends already? Now then, I should make them do it again!" Mogul noted.

"Not happening!" Tails said, having his mother's blade on him. "We used Power Rings to free them of your control. But we only broke the brainwashing spell, we should let them keep the extra powers you gave them. We also gave one to the lynx ninja, since Nic seemed to like him."

"Clever, very clever, but you haven't seen the true power of Mammoth Mogul yet…" Mogul said as he made two big rocks rise up from the ground and tossed it at them. Sonic quickly entered his spin-dash and so did Tails and they broke through the rocky substance. Mogul created a whirlwind to try and knock them away, but Sonic used his speed to run in the opposite direction of the whirlwind and cancel it out.

Mogul shot fireballs at them, but they were too fast. Mogul stomped the floor, creating a landslide, but Sonic jumped over it, Tails grabbed Sonic and tossed him into Mogul, who was knocked on his back by the impact of the homing attack on his head. "You are skilled, I must admit, but I'm not done." Mogul wanted to cast another spell, but he found his arm wrapped up with another light chain. Merlin has woken up and cast a new spell.

Another chain appeared, binding his other arm to his body. But this one was one of Nicole's nanite chains. "This time your crystal trick won't work! I have gotten myself some power ring energy as well!"

The other Freedom Fighters gathered around Mogul. "Ok guys, don't hold back, he has this super healing power, so you can go all out!" Sonic said.

Sally jumped on Mogul's back, pushed a button on her staff as she planted it in Mogul's back and used it to shock him. Fiona followed and planted her daggers in his gut. Cosmo followed, using nerve blows to stun Mogul. Muttski, dressed as a samurai and Antoine rushed at him and both lashed with their swords, giving two vertical slashes.

"Let's bring him to extinction!" Tori said as she and Bunnie readied her blasters and pelted Mogul with laser blasts. Then Dulcy came along and froze Mogul from head to toe in the ice, allowing Merlin and Nicole to let Mogul go. But Mogul, in his icy state was vulnerable to one final blow, courtesy of Rotor's sticky bombs.

The bombs exploded around the icy mammoth, shattering the ice and while he wasn't gravely injured, Mogul was on his knees and hands and panting. He was durable but he had limits…he could heal, but he still had limited stamina.

"You're outnumbered, outclassed, we got your army of clones tied up and your bounty hunters have abandoned you! You better surrender or we'll give you an even bigger pounding!" Sonic said.

Mogul's face was in pure anger. "You proved yourselves worthy…strong, creative and much better than anything I could create. Guess cloning was a mistake after all. But I'm far from done. For now I had only used my own strength, but now it's time for me to truly tap into the Master Emerald's power!" Mogul said as he got back to his feet and glowed.

The three guardians stood around the Master emerald, the black energy that zapped them started to turn green, they were close to breaking the spell. The rest managed to hold off some golems that tried to intervene. However, Mogul had started to tap into the Master Emerald's power and now the lightning turned back to black, and the entire Master Emerald turned black as his power was abused and the guardians were knocked away from the Emerald.

"No! We were so close!" Knuckles said.

"That's not the worst…Mogul will use the Emerald's power to the fullest…this can't be good!" Athair said fearfully.

The heroes had seen Mogul glow with Emerald energy, but he suddenly had disappeared. But they knew he didn't escape. They then saw the sky turn dark and two red huge lights appeared in the sky, and a giant image of Mogul appeared in the sky, clad in golden armor… "Behold, the power of Master Mogul!" he roared with a booming voice.

"So that's what happens when he is Super…doesn't look good." Sonic said.

"Your super forms were…adequate. But you can't imagine what a true power form like mine can do…I could erase you with a mere thought if I wanted to…but I want to have the chance to inflict some pain onto you!" Mogul boomed.

"Well, why don't you prove it? You want to see if your super form surpasses ours? Let us test that out?" Tails said, hoping he could play around with Mogul's ego.

"You try to trick me, don't you…however, I want to test out those super forms…but let's go over this a bit differently, shall we?" Mogul stated. His eyes glowed as reality warped around them. The freedom fighters and the citizens of both Knothole and Angel Island found themselves in an ethereal arena for sorts.

"Hey, how did we get here?" Vector said as he saw where they were.

"Mogul…his super abilities are immense! He is almost omnipotent." Athair said fearfully.

"But then, where is Knuckles?" Julie-Su asked.

"He's in the arena…" Charmy said as she pointed down.

Indeed, Knuckles, Tails and Sonic stood at the center of the arena, being the main event. "Hey Knucklehead…good to see you…or as good as it can be with these circumstances."

"I tried to block off his connection with the Emerald, but he tapped into the Emerald's power before we could do so!" Knuckles noted.

"We'll have to try something else…I'll think of something, hopefully." Tails said nervously.

Master Mogul sat on a throne, the Master Emerald in his hand (Mogul had grown significantly) and watching the events unfold. "These are my rules, Trinity…since your super forms are the only thing that can put up something of a fight in my new form, I'll give you a chance to test them…not against me, but against them."

Mogul summoned Miles, Scourge and O'Nux to the battlefield. Scourge was still light-headed from all the beating he took today, Miles stood there, not smugly as usual but rather looking annoyed and O'Nux still had his hands wrapped in bandages. He was also holding onto something…

"Hey, is that one of my warp rings?" Tails asked.

"Er…yeah, when the bounty hunters broke out, I took a detour down your lab…interesting stuff here. A warp ring you said? Now, probably Mogul would prevent us from using it to escape…but the concept of dimensional displacement intrigues me…" O'Nux said as he thrusts his fist through the ring, a small portal opening up in front of Scourge, the temporal displaced fist shooting through it and punching him in the face!

"Ouch…you mother- I'm tired of getting things thrown at me the whole time!" Scourge whined.

"Oh, grow a spine!" Miles said.

"Enough! I'll give the three of you, as copies of the Trinity one last chance…I'll grant you the power of a Super Form…just enough to put up a fight against the heroes. Don't bother trying to waste the Super form energy on me, you'll burn up your energy too quickly to do any damage to me. Prove to me that you can fight the heroes when they're at their strongest, and maybe I won't erase you from existence with the rest of Knothole and New Albion!" Mogul explained.

"Super form? Awesome, well let it rip, boss!" Scourge said as he opened his arms, like he was welcoming it. Scourge got zapped, but it was as if he was hit by lightning. "Ouch! Not that hard!" Scourge then admired his new form. It looked like Sonic's, only with black Scylla, red long sharp fingernails, the flames on his jacket turning blue, his shades turning from red to blue and his shoes becoming purple. "Oh yeah, now I look awesome!"

"Yeah, real frightening, how are they going to go up against the red nail polish of doom and the purple boots of fury?" Miles' superform looked more…respectable. The white of his eyes was red too, and like Turbo Tails he had something of an orange hue, and instead of a normal red cape, he had a black cape in the shape of a pair of bat wings.

Chaos O'Nux, minus the bandaged hands and the hat he wore looked a lot like Knuckles' form. "You know, I'll ditch the hat, it doesn't fit with me anymore." he said as he tossed aside.

"You should do away with the outfit too, Scourge. It doesn't suit the super form that well. It makes you look like Lobo and a hedgehog's lovechild." Miles stated.

"You're just jealous because I look better then you!" Scourge said.

"No, that would be us." Sonic said, now in his Super form. Tails and Knuckles were in their super forms as well.

"Now, we all got only limited use of this form. Not enough to use on Mogul, only on our counterparts…so be careful with it." Miles tried to advice Scourge.

"Bla, bla, bla, now I'm invulnerable he can't do jack to me!" Scourge said arrogantly.

"Why do I even bother?" Miles moaned.

"As amusing as I find your squabbles…the crowd came to see a fight. And that's what they'll get…your own lives and those of the people are at stake so I suggest you comply!" Master Mogul said.

"Guess we'll face of once again, brother. Let's see if you can still measure up to me!" Miles said.

"I want to say the same thing." Tails said back.

"Now this is what I've been waiting for, now with this new power I'll kick your ass!" Scourge said, once again full of yourself.

"Are you sure that the transformation didn't kill the few braincells you had?" Sonic taunted.

"I just rather skip the formalities." O'Nux said.

"You and me both!" Knuckles replied.

"FIGHT!" Mogul ordered.

TO BE CONTINUED


	111. Clash of the supers

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN: SUPER CLASH

This was it…Mogul has forced the Trinity, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles against their evil counterparts in a fight of the supers…with only enough power to fight them, but not enough to directly face Mogul. This would surely be a match of equals…for the most part.

"Oh yeah, now I'm super-beefed up! Now I'll be the champ!" Scourge said as he tried to fly up…he did, but in the middle he stopped and suddenly turned upside down. "Just a sec…still getting the hang of it…how do I work this?" Scourge flailed around as he floated like he was in space.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "I got to fight him? Give me something challenging to fight, like I don't know…an Egg Pawn or a Swatbot?"

"Hey, I can be a real threat once I got the hang of this power…if you give me a minute…" Scourge said as he tried to swim through the air, but it didn't work.

"You know, the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald turn thought into power. It doesn't work for you is because you don't exactly have any thoughts." Sonic explained.

"You trying to say I'm stupid?" Scourge asked.

"Yep, as dumb as a doorknob…I stand corrected, a doorknob actually is useful!" Sonic said.

"That does it…I'm gonna getcha!" Scourge said as he tried to rush towards Sonic, but instead he flew up like a rocket and bumped his head into a force field Mogul has put up before he floated down, dazed by the impact.

"I wonder if Tails needs help with Miles…" Sonic wondered.

"START TAKING ME SERIOUSLY!" Scourge said angrily as he rushed at Sonic, who just moved out of the way, and Scourge collided with a wall instead.

"Ok, you're getting a bit better, but you need to work on your aim." Sonic said. Scourge got up, angrily, and charged at Sonic again. Just as Scourge was getting close, Sonic did a forward flip in mid-air and brought his heel down on Scourge's head, sending him into the ground. "You're really thick, making the same mistake twice of dumbly charging into things!"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Scourge said as in his anger, he shot eye-beams, which Sonic barely dodged. "Now that's cool! Psyche!" Scourge said as he continued to fire eye beams.

But Sonic knew Scourge was dumb enough to not realize how much energy blasts drained his Chaos Energy. "Hey phony, you can't hit the side of a barn!" Sonic says as Scourge tried blasting him, without success. "You can't hit a barn from two inches away!" He dodged more energy blasts. "Whoa, I'm having a blast, unlike you! Blondes really do have more fun!"

"Will you stop talking!" Scourge said as he fired another massive energy blast, but missed again. The Scourge felt his super form fade, and went back from gold to blue. Realizing he had used up all his energy too quickly, and he was an easy prey, he gulped. "You can talk as much as you want…"

Sonic moved up close to Scourge, just coiled his finger and then send Scourge flying in a wall, knocking him out with a single finger. "As fun as that was, I think Tails and Knucklehead have more problems with their counterparts, I think they could use a hand. Luckily fighting Scourge didn't take much energy." Sonic muttered.

Indeed, Tails and Miles were fighting, but they were much more on par, just like they have been before. At blinding speech they charged into each other, only to bounce of each other time and time again. So they decided to fight more up close.

Tails tried to punch Miles, but Miles leaned back, making the punch miss, as Miles then claws at Tails, who ducks under it. Both Tails and Miles readied their namesakes and slashed with their tails at each other, only for the tails to clash into each other over and over again, creating sparks. When that didn't work, Miles got bored and kicked Tails in the stomach, but Tails then punched him in the face.

Tails namesakes glowed as he creates a huge X-shaped slash in the air, and shot the energy cross at Miles, who was pushed back at first, but then shatters the X. Miles spins his arm around real fast, and with the chaos energy creates a wheel of sorts which he tossed at Tails. Tails got hit by it as well but managed to break through as well. Both charged energy in their fists and rushed at one another, their fists collided, creating a huge explosion and pushing them both back.

They rushed at each other again and locked hands, grappling. "We're quite equal…no surprise since we're quite the same." Miles noted.

"I'm not like you. I'm not evil!" Tails noted.

"Evil? That's so vague…the world isn't black and white you know. It's just I'm like you, just with a few tweaks. Not just a photonegative. No it's much more complicated than that." Miles noted.

"At this moment I don't need complicated. You're my foe, I take you down, and then it's Mogul's turn." Tails replied.

"You know, we don't have to fight each other over it. You know, I don't really like Mogul myself. He created me, but to him I'm just an experiment, a lab rat, and once I outlived my use, he'll erase me. I don't want that. We both want the same thing, so we should work together on this." Miles suggested.

"What's in it for you? Just one less competitor for world domination?" Tails asked. To his surprise Miles laughed. "What's so funny?"

"Me? Conquer the world? Why would I want to do that? I would be more then capable to do it, I'm smart and all…you probably would be able to do so too, since you share my intelligence…my plan would involve ruining the world economy, some well placed bribes and a plate of chilidogs…but seriously, why would I want to conquer the world? If you take something by force, you'll be spending the rest of your life trying to keep it. I got better things to do!" Miles noted.

"What would you want in life? I doubt you want to create a better world, like the Freedom fighters do." Tails asked.

"Actually, that's exactly what I want. Though my methods would be different from yours. More twisted…perhaps. But I'm not bat guano crazy like Benedict with the idea. No, I'd just have my own little utopia, and hang out undisturbed by anyone, just me and a few hot chicks. What more do I need in life?" Miles said.

"Why do I not believe you, then?" Tails asked.

"That's your problem. But seriously, why would I lie to myself? Even if I have an ulterior motive, you just have to smart enough to see it coming. But right now you want the mammoth out of your hair, and you need all the help you can get." Miles said.

"I hate it when you're right…or when I'm right…this clone thing is stupid!" Tails muttered.

Knuckles fought O'Nux in close combat…O'Nux didn't have spikes anymore due to the damage done by Rotor's explosives to his hands (who were still wrapped in bandages). However they didn't seem to be healed by the transfer to super form…probably something about O'Nux sub consciousness to be different from Knuckles in general. But he still had his combat skills.

Knuckles threw the first punch, sending O'Nux flying and spiraling through the air. O'Nux recomposes himself and in returns rushed at Knuckles, landing a kick in his chest and sending him plummeting towards the ground, but regained flight before he impacted. The two rushed at each other and both launched a punch, both hitting each other on the cheek at the same time.

Knuckles charged his claws and sliced at O'Nux, who caught his fist in his hand, but when he tried to punch Knuckles in return, his fist was caught by Knuckles' free hand. They struggled to try to overpower one another, but they were both just as strong as one another. No one dared using their energy based attacks out of fear of losing their super form.

"I will not be defeated again…I will not be a mere copy…I shall be a real person…as soon as you are destroyed." O'Nux said.

"You'd still be a copy even if you managed, but then the copy of a dead guy. Face it, bub! You're fake as can be. So, don't mind if I take your power away before you embarrass yourself further." Knuckles concentrated and then started to drain the Chaos energy out of O'Nux, reducing him back to normal.

"How can you do that?" O'Nux asked.

"I can only do this to you, I think…it's about there only being one Avatar or something like that." Knuckles said as he was finished with O'Nux.

That only left Miles as the only super powered clone, but he was alone, while the opposing teams all still had their super forms. But Miles hadn't intended to win, he knew his teammates would drag him down, they were too prideful to cooperate. "Oh well…still had fun while it lasted." Miles sighed.

"Enough of this. I see you clones can't cooperate to my wishes properly, I have no use for a trinity that can't do what the name implies. The real Trinity wins…and they get one chance at trying to take my Emerald back. I hope they can think of something fast, because they only have one shot with the energy they have left.

"Ok, what are we going to do about Mogul…he has infinite Emerald energy. We are limited, we need one good shot at the right time, but if it fails we waste our energy." Sonic thought.

"Tails, you're the smart one, you can think of something?" Knuckles said.

"I can't think of anything to do with so little energy…" Tails noted.

"Then take what I have left…Mogul will kill me for it, but I'm dead anyway if he isn't stopped. Don't get any ideas, I don't do it for you, but rather out of self-preservation." Miles said, having turned back to normal and collected his chaos energy into one orb and handing it to Tails.

"Still not enough for my plan." Tails noted.

"Then take ours as well…" Sonic and Knuckles handed the energy of their super forms to Tails as well, in the form of more energy orbs.

"Are you sure I should take the energy? I mean, the Master Emerald is your responsibility, Knuckles." Tails asked.

"Yeah, but we need brains, not brawn, and you have brains. You use them, you just clear the way for me!" Knuckles insisted.

"Okay then, here goes nothing!" Tails absorbed all the chaos energy of Miles and his comrades into his body, upgrading his Super form to Hyper Form…he was flashing in all kinds of colors so fast he almost appeared white.

"Oh, pretty colors!" Scourge said, still dazed from the beating he received, but as the colors flashed in front of him, he started to foam at the mouth and started to have a seizure.

(Note: I mean no disrespect to epileptic people. I just really, really hate Scourge and want him to suffer in various ways!)

Hyper Tails prepared himself. He stood in front of the gigantic Master Mogul. Mogul didn't seem to perceive Tails' new form as a threat. "You are alone now, more powerful than before but still alone. And while you only have begun to explore your new powers, I am an expert, it's a matter of time!"

"You? Experienced? You're just a relic who hasn't learned yet the times have changed and 'survival of the fittest' no longer applies. You're old news, Mogul!" Tails taunted. Mogul summoned a rock which was near the size of a planet as he tossed it right at Tails, who charged energy in his fist to shatter it. "See, you're still nothing more than a cavemen, it still comes down to throwing rocks!" Tails said.

"Silence, insolent whelp! Who has the power here? Me! I make the rules, neither time or space shall prevent me from enforcing my rules!" Mogul said as he summons what nearly appeared to be an entire ocean's worth of water around tails, froze it all into icicle and fired it at Tails. Tails did a new trick, he spins each of his tails around separately , creating two different shields to protect him, all he had to do is turn around his axis to fend off the nearly endless barrage of icicles.

"You got nothing better? Creativity doesn't come with the ages…come think of it, you are so old you make my fossil collection look brand new! Even my grandma would think you're old-fashioned!" Tails taunted.

"You're just as annoying as the hedgehog!" Mogul said as he tossed a fireball the size of a small star at Tails. Tails channeled power in them and then concentrated on feeling no pain and smacks the fireball away into the void, luckily his hyperform and the fact he concentrated on reducing pain, the burns weren't as grave.

"The kid pulls a page from your book. He taunts to make him loose focus." Knuckles realized.

"I'm so proud of him." Sonic said with a smirk.

Mogul fired a blast of wind which was nearly a planet's worth of oxygen at Tails, who just spins his tails really fast to diffuse the blast of wind. "You should know, spinning is my thing!" Tails said as he showed off his tails. "I can also do the reverse, watch!" Tails spins around, while his tails remained stationary. Mogul looked at how Tails' body spins around quickly.

"Stop doing that, you're making me…dizzy!" Mogul noted. "Stop that!" Mogul growled as he fired at the spinning tails, only for his blast to go right through it. "An afterimage…that means…" Mogul realized.

"I'm right here!" Tails said as he reappeared on top of the Master Emerald in Mogul's gigantic hand. However, black lightning engulfed Tails and the Emerald.

"You fool, you think you can break my hex so easily?" Mogul noted.

"Maybe not break it, but remove it!" Tails said as he absorbs the black lightning in his body.

"No, stop!" Mogul said as he was shocked by some unseen force as well, since he was connected to the Emerald and it was affecting him too!

"Knuckles, now!" Tails said as he took the full brunt of the hex.

"The servers are the seven chaos. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart. The heart is the controller. The controller serves to unify the chaos…" Knuckles casts the incantation. "Emerald, break free from Mogul!" Knuckles noted.

Mogul screamed as the Master Emerald glowed and enveloped everything in a bright green light. When it died down, everyone was back where they were before Mogul dragged them away, Knuckles, Chaotix and echidnas on Angel Island, the rest in Knothole.

"Everything seems normal again…No Mogul in sight…Knucklehead appears to have taken the Master Emerald back…" Sonic noted.

Scourge looked around, indeed seeing Mogul is gone. "Yay, I'm free!" He said as he raised his fists in the air in joy, only to see some officers of the Knothole Defense Force had surrounded him and held him at gunpoint. Scourge stretched his fingers, raising his hands in surrender. "Why me?"

"Tails, you were amazing, we've seen it all. You outsmarted a self-proclaimed god…again…since you smacktalked that ankylosaur…you were just great!" Fiona complimented Tails, who still floated around in his Hyper Form. However, Tails collapsed on the ground. "Tails!" Fiona said worried as she tried to approach him, but got shocked by something. "Ouch!"

"It's the hex…I still have it in my body…I can't expel it!" Tails said, as if he was in pain.

"No worries, we just find a way to remove it, now Mogul is gone, we have all the time we need!" Sally said.

"That's what you think!" Mogul has reappeared. He was still in Master Mogul form, but he was now back to the size he was as normal Mogul. "You may have split me from the Master Emerald but I've absorbed enough Chaos Energy to empower myself for a while…I can still erase you! Starting with the fox, who thanks to my curse is immobilized." Mogul noted.

"I won't let you!" Fiona said as she stood in front of tails, daggers pulled. Mogul just waved his hands and blew all the heroes away from Tails so he could get a free shot.

"That you won't allow it doesn't mean you can do anything about it. Now…goodbye, young Prower! You were a worthy foe, but in the end I win!" Mogul said as he charged his cane with energy and was ready to strike down on Tails…who recovered in time and caught the cane in his hand. "So…still got some fight left in you?"

"I haven't even started yet…" Tails said…though his voice sounded different. Tails snapped the cane in half by flicking his wrist and then struck Mogul with an arm thrust, pushing him back. Tails raised his head, and there was something different in his eyes. His colorful form seemed to glow with a dark aura.

"Oh no…it can't be!" Fiona said scared.

"What can't be?" Sally asked.

"You know the dark persona Tails manifested when we fought the Battle Bird armada? That's him. I can sense it!" Fiona said worried.

"But he manifests in Tails' Hyper form? That's not good, is it?" Sonic said, though he already knew the answer.

Tails' form started to alter…first he grew in size, now he was about Sonic's size. His fingers grew pointy and claw-like…and his red eyes turned into crazed spirals. "What form is this? Is it still Hyper Form?" Mogul wondered.

"Hyper…that's half right…you can call me Hyperion, old coot! And now the party has really begun!"

TO BE CONTINUED


	112. Hyperion

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: SUPER SONIC Z  
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE: HYPERION

"Hyperion?" is what the everyone was wondering when this new form of Tails introduced himself…or it wasn't rather Tails, but something dark that has been living in Tails' mind and now was using his body.

"Indeed. Hyperion, with H for Hurt, Y for You're so dead, P for Pulverize, E for Eradicate, R for Ripping apart, I for I'm going to screw you over, O for Overkill and N for Nuke! But I'm not going to do it necessarily in that order!" Hyperion said. "You know, I should thank you for the hex that finally allowed me to fully emerge, but you tried to kill my host, and me with it, so I don't like it. So…I'm going to have to kill you!"

"Hyper, Hyperion, whatever you call yourself, you don't have the power of a Master form like me, and even without the Master Emerald I absorbed enough of its energy to maintain this form long enough to destroy you all! So die!" Mogul said as he zapped Hyperion with a burst of energy, and it appeared first Hyperion screamed in pain, but soon the scream turned into insane laughter. "What?"

"Thanks for the energy. But you're doing it wrong! Let me show you how it's really done!" He aimed a single finger at Mogul. "Zap!" he said and then a tiny burst of chaos energy shot out of it. But that tiny burst, once it hit Mogul, managed to send the pachyderm flying a long distance. Hyperion blew his finger like a gunman would if it had fired his gun. "Any questions?"

Mogul had picked himself off and he was ticked off. "How can you withstand my magic?" Mogul asked.

"You see, the hex that you placed on that huge green rock, when Tailsy absorbed it into himself, the chaos magic reacted with the dark chaos energies in his body, which is me, and now it became part of my being. I'm literally made of dark chaos magic now…so any spell you fire at me now only makes me stronger!" Hyperion explained.

"Then I need to use different methods!" Mogul created another huge-ass fireball and tossed it at Hyperion. But Hyperion caught it.

"This belongs to you?" Hyperion said as he tossed it back, Mogul being blasted back and part of his golden armor molten off. "Oh, your gay armor is broken…I mean it's golden and stuff. You should go clubbing…well, I'm gonna club too, but differently!" Hyperion said as he grabbed a skyscraper, lifted it off the ground (luckily it was evacuated) and slammed it on top of Mogul. "Oh, he's going to feel that in the morning…that and many more injuries I'll inflict on him!" Hyperion said as he rushed at the dazed Mogul.

"Are we supposed to be glad this guy is here, I mean he's beating Mogul for us. What I don't like he's using Tails' body." Sonic asked.

"We shouldn't. Hyperion is not the good guy. He's just madness and destruction. I saw him when he came out, he took delight in hurting the battle birds that hurt me…he's going to give Mogul a slow painful death…but that's if he could die." Fiona explained.

"Hyperion is toying with him? He's really strong enough to do that?" Sally asked worried.

"The chaos scanners says so…the hex and the natural chaos energies of Tails body react violently, like putting two unstable elements together, an explosion of power, only this one keeps growing…like a chain reaction." Rotor said as he looked at a scanner. The scanner then exploded in his hands. "And it becomes too big to measure!"

"Is it over nine thousand?" Muttski asked.

"That's not important, what will happen when psycho there gets tired of playing with Mogul?" Sonic asked.

"Let's hope we can figure out something by then…" Sally said worried.

Mogul was thrown in a building by Hyperion. Mogul got up and tried swatting Hyperion with his cane, but it broke as soon as it hit Hyperion. Since Mogul's cane was also super charged with Chaos energy, it shouldn't normally break, but Hyperion wasn't normal. "Thank you, I was having this itch right there! Shall I scratch your head too?" Hyperion said as he clawed Mogul's face. But unlike before, those wounds don't heal. "You know, they say you can't die. But I like that, so I can play with you more!" Hyperion said in delight.

"Play? You think this is a game, punk? I am Master Mogul, I am a god!" Mogul said as he created lightning in his hands and fired at Hyperion. Hyperion was actually sent flying this time into a building. "Heh, not so tough after all!"

"Fooled you!" Hyperion said as he got up and rushed at Mogul and…gave him an enormous wedgie. "Whoa, what size do you have? XXXXXXXX-add a few more thousand X's-XL?" Hyperion taunted as he swings Mogul around by his shorts and then tosses him into the ground.

"You dare trying to humiliate me?" Mogul said as he rubbed his sore behind.

"Hello? That's what I just did!" Hyperion said as he knocked on top of Mogul's head to hammer it in. Mogul was enraged as he tried to punch Hyperion, but Hyperion caught the fist and then twists Mogul's arm. "Indian Burn!" Hyperion said as his claws heated up and burnt the skin if Mogul's arm. "I'm sure that's now how it works, but hey, it's a burn anyways. Say 'uncle'!" Hyperion said.

"Never!" Mogul said, even as he was in pain. He was used to being the best and he wouldn't let the albino crazy take him down.

"Guess I have a few more rounds with you…" Hyperion said as he grabbed Mogul's tusk and broke it off, which hurts Mogul greatly. "Oh, what to do with this?" Hyperion said as he tried to think of a torture with the tusk. Mogul screamed in pain. "Shut your hole, trying to think here…Hole? Oh, there I can put it!" Hyperion said.

"No, not down my throat!" Mogul said fearfully.

"Ok, whatever you want…but I have to put it somewhere!" Hyperion said with a sadistic grin. I just leave it to the reader's imagination what Hyperion did with the tusk, but let's just say Mogul wished it had gone down his throat instead. "What are you whining about? You said 'not down the throat'! Some people just don't know what they want!"

Hyperion then dug his claws into Mogul's gut and heated them up again, before turning his claws, twisting the skin and burn it at the same time. Mogul screamed in pain. "Good thing I put I didn't put it down your throat, you wouldn't have been able to scream." Hyperion said with sadistic glee. Mogul muttered something but he was so hurt and weakened he couldn't speak out loud. "Little louder, porkchop! Say 'Uncle' only works when I can hear it!" Hyperion stated. Mogul couldn't speak louder anymore. Mogul was actually crying in pain and the humiliation he was inflicted upon. For once he wished he'd be mortal, so this could be done with.

But Hyperion had other plans in mind. He grabbed Mogul's hand. "This little piggy went to market…" Hyperion said as he broke Mogul's thumb, getting a moan of pain from him. "…this Piggy stayed home…" Hyperion said as he burnt the index finger. "This little piggy ate roast beef…" Hyperion bit off the middle finger and spat it out (and it didn't regrow either.) "This little piggy had none…" Hyperion clawed at the ring finger, nearly cutting it off, but not completely. "And this little piggy went all the way home!" Then Mogul's Pinkie was frozen and broke off. "What do you know, we ran out of piggies!" Hyperion said, but then he noted Mogul's other hand. "Oh wait, there are five more!"

As Hyperion was torturing Mogul, Knuckles and the Chaotix have been sent back to Angel Island once the latter's hold over the Emerald had broken. They were now standing in the Emerald chamber, with the Master Emerald. "What's the status on the Emerald?" Vector asked.

Knuckles touched the Emerald and closed his eyes, concentrating. "It's okay, the hex is gone, but the Emerald must readjust itself…so we won't be able to draw full power from it anytime soon." Knuckles noted.

"How are the Freedom Fighters doing?" Charmy asked.

"Let's contact them and find out." Knuckles said as he grabbed a communicator. "Knuckles to knothole Freedom Fighters, come in!"

"Sally Acorn speaking…Knuckles, what is going on at Angel Island?" Sally asked.

"Everything seems ok, the Master Emerald is recovering from Mogul's hex so we can't draw power from it at the moment. What's the status on your side?" Knuckles asked.

"Tails absorbed Mogul's hex in his body, this somehow creates an evil personality calling itself Hyperion, it's overpowering and torturing Mogul and we don't know what to do if he gets bored with that…" Sally warned.

"We don't have time to gather the Emeralds, and without the Master Emerald…I got it, I'm coming over, with the Chaotix and a surprise of our own, just hold on!" Knuckles said as he shut down the communication. "We're picking something up and then we go help the Knothole Freedom Fighters."

Meanwhile, Hyperion continued torturing Mogul, burying his hot claws in his trunk. Mogul moaned in pain, but had screamed so much his throat was sour. He couldn't scream anymore. "I'm not stopping until you say Uncle, so better get those vocals working…" Hyperion said.

"Stop!" someone shouted to him. Hyperion turned around…and liked what he saw: Fiona Fox. "Stop the torture, he's beaten, he can't harm anyone anymore! The Tails I know wouldn't resort to anything as torture…so please, stop!"

"Sorry, Tails is not here at the moment, and this time it will be a little harder to reach him…I do have two words for you, sweet-cheeks: HELLO NURSE!" He said as he let Mogul go and rushed at her side in an instant. "I don't mind a check-up if you perform it…as long as I get to play doctor!" he said with his toothy grin and his spirally eyes full of lust. Fiona slaps him across the face, but it only hurts her hand and Hyperion didn't feel anything at all. "Heh…feisty!"

"Let Tails go! I belong with him!" Fiona demanded, doing her best not to show fear in front of this odd entity.

"Sorry, no can do! I'm having way too much fun, and I'm going to have a lot of fun with you as well." Hyperion said as he licked his lips. Then something blue rushed at Hyperion and spin-dashed into him, only for Hyperion to grab him out of the air and then toss him in a nearby building. "Excuse me, trying to pick up a hot chick here! Can I get some freakin' privacy?" Hyperion screamed.

"I'm not letting a psycho like you control my little bro's body or assault Fiona…you'd have to go through us first!" Sonic said as he got up and he and the other Freedom Fighters surrounded Hyperion.

"Not a bad idea!" Hyperion said with a malicious grin on his face. Sonic rushed at him again, but Hyperion snatched him out of his superspeed by his throat and slammed him hard into the ground. "Too slow!" Hyperion taunted.

Sally grabbed her scythe, jumped up and prepared to slash, but Hyperion caught the scythe in between two fingers and dragged Sally along by it and then tossed them both away.

Nicole, Bunnie and Tori all transformed their limbs into blasters and then fired away at Hyperion, who just stood there as the blasts bounced off of him without harming him. He then claps his hands, creating a shockwave that sends the three flying.

Rotor jumps in and tosses several bombs, which Hyperion caught in his hands, and then ate…he chewed on them, you could hear a small explosion in his mouth as he then belched and released a cloud of smoke.

Amy and Lily pulled out some darts and arrows and fired, but Hyperion caught them in his hands and tossed them back, pinning Amy and Lily to a wall with their own projectiles.

Muttski and Antoine both pulled out blades (the former because he was wearing a samurai costume) as they stabbed at Hyperion, but the blades broke off when touching his skin and he then backhands them, sending them flying.

"He's too strong…he's not even breaking a sweat! And we don't have any Chaos Emeralds to empower us!" Sonic noted.

"Knuckles said he'd be here soon, and he'd bring something, we need to hold him off a little longer." Sally noted.

"Say, let there be no hard feelings between us. I mean, Mogul is a dick, so what if I torture the guy? I'm not your enemy! Sorry about borrowing the pipsqueak's body but I was stuck in his head for quite a long time and I just want to cut loose!" Hyperion said.

"Mogul is a jerk, but we must have him face justice in a fair way. We are not monsters who take pleasure in a foe's demise, we take them out to prevent them from hurting others. Besides, if you really wanted to get out, you could have asked, not forced the issue." Sally argued.

"Clever…but in the end, it's still a tom-a-toe, tom-ah-toe thing. It comes down to the same in the end. Now if you excuse me, I was busy with this hot piece of vixen…" Hyperion stated.

"You possessed the body of an eleven old boy, but from the look of things you aged it to about sixteen or seventeen biologically…and Fiona is just thirteen!" Sonic pointed out.

"Oh, that's easily remedied." Hyperion said as he snatched Fiona and flew up in the air with her.

"Let me go!" Fiona said as she struggled to break free, but in Hyperion's grip that wouldn't do much.

"Don't fight me, you'll just waste effort and energy." Hyperion said as he run one of his pointy fingers across her back, hitting a soft spot of Fiona. Fiona was disgusted, but at the same took some delight as her soft spot was touched, and she hated herself for that. "I know from Tails' mind where to touch you to pleasure you. You also have one here…" he touches the back of her neck, which sends another wave of pleasure and disgust through Fiona. "And here…" he touched her across the waist.

"Stop that!" Fiona felt herself blushing through her fur.

"Why don't you stop thinking about this too much, and just enjoy it?" Hyperion said as he stared in Fiona's eyes. They were spirally to begin with, but this time there was something different, and Fiona felt drowsy…like her mind slips away. "That's right, don't think, it's too much effort, let me think for you, you just enjoy…Theia." He said with a lustful grin.

"I…am Theia…" Fiona repeated in a dull monotone voice.

Hyperion felt himself being hit by something, and while it didn't hurt, he felt some sort of tickle or itch. He looked down and saw it was Knuckles who had fired a Thunder Arrow. "Please stay here and wait for me, sweetheart, I'm going to do some cleaning up!" he said as he gently put Fiona down on a rooftop before he rushed at Knuckles. "Why do I always get to deal with moodkillers?" Hyperion said in anger.

Knuckles prepared himself for impact as Hyperion charged into him. But Knuckles crawled on his back, out of reach of Hyperion's claws. But Hyperion grabbed Knuckles with his tails, since he doesn't need them to fly and slammed him into the ground. "Listen dreadhead, do I walk in when you and your wife are trying to have some alone time?" Hyperion said annoyed.

"I don't know what you are, but you are inside one of my friends, and I request you leave!" Knuckles demanded.

"Sorry, me and Tails are one side of a coin now…my dark energies are connected to his chaos energies, try to remove me, and bye bye Tails." Hyperion said.

"Then we'll have to seal you then…" Knuckles said as he signaled something with his hands.

While Hyperion was distracted, The Chaotix have handed something over to the Freedom Fighters, and now Sonic was holding the Chaos Rings. The Chaos Rings were sooped up power rings infused with Emerald energy, and they gained an additional ability to keep absorbing chaos power into themselves. Sonic concentrated and the seven rings floated in a circle in front of him, each of them letting out an energy rope in their respective color at Hyperion. Two wrapped around each of his arms, two more around his legs, two around his tails and one around his neck.

"No…I'm not going to spend my life trapped again!" Hyperion said as he struggled to break free of the bonds. Already he felt his power they tried draining his power away… "I'm not going back! I AM NOT GOING BACK!" Hyperion glowed as his anger increased and he lets out a wave of energy, which travelled in an electric form across the light ropes, and back into the Rings. They were overloaded with Hyperion's energy and shattered, and the energy of the rings was released and attached itself to the nearest suitable source…Sonic.

Sonic screamed in pain as the Chaos energies, infused with some of Hyperion's latched onto him. He screamed in pain like he was on fire…which in fact he was. Chaos-based flames consumed his forms. Sally tried to run towards him, but was held back by Rotor…good thing too because there was no telling what those flames could do.

It hurt Sonic, but the chaos based flames didn't seem to physically burn him…but they do seem to have another effect. His quills started to turn a dark shade of purple…almost black, same for his shoes which now lacked the golden buckle. His skin turned from peach to white. Two white vertical lines travelled from the middle of his forehead across his spines, which now hung down lower then usual. His pupils and mouth were now absent, just a white space where his eyes were. The groans of pain were now replaced with ones of rage…and his flaming aura grew bigger.

"No, not Sonic too…One demonic superform is already too much!" Sally said in panic.

However, the newly transformed Sonic had eyes for Hyperion as he rushed at him and tackled him away, and soon a fight ensued in the skies. "Now…that's an interesting reaction…what should we call you?" Hyperion asked the other demonic super. He didn't reply. "Not a talker are you? Oh well…I'll call you Darkspine!" Hyperion said.

As Hyperion and Darkspine would begin their fight in the sky, Mogul lay there bleeding and hurt on the ground. But he wasn't out completely. He raised his hand slightly, holding the remnants of his cane. The broke tip glowed as the remains of the now defeated crystal army in Knothole and on Angel Island were turned into tiny specks of green light, which soon travelled towards Mogul…and with the fight between Darkspine and Hyperion no one would be too busy to notice…

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
